St. Paul, Minn. –– The University of Northwestern baseball team (29-10) lost to the University of St. Thomas (26-5) on Friday afternoon. The Tommies won 9-3 in a battle between the No. 3 (St. Thomas) and No. 5 (Northwestern) ranked teams in the Midwest Regional.

The Tommies jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first due to two unearned runs. They added a fourth in the second in what proved to be the winning run. Northwestern put together its first threat in the sixth with a leadoff single by Lindow. Andrew Simonson (Hudson, Wis./East Ridge) followed with a one-out single to put two runners on for the first time in a frame, but they were left stranded.

The Eagles rallied in a significant way in the seventh, but it fell just short. Sam Peterson (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) and Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) started the inning off with walks. Wyatt Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool) followed with an RBI single to center, which moved Severson to third. Mason Skrede (Viroqua, Wis./Viroqua) recorded an infield RBI single to cut the lead in half. A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position, and Morrell came in on Guerin Szafraniec's (Brighton, Colo./Brighton) RBI groundout. Skrede advanced to third, but the tying run was left stranded on third.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Tommies added two runs to extend the lead back to three. Three more runs followed in the bottom of the eighth to make it 9-3.

Carlton Lindow (Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls) was the only Eagle with multiple hits. Eight of the nine starters reached base in the contest. 

Philip Wall (Juneau, Alaska/IDEA) got the start on the mound and fell to 4-3. He surrendered one earned run while scattering six hits. Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) followed in the seventh and gave up two runs, and Morrell gave up three in the eighth.

The team finishes the regular season with the second-best winning percentage in school history (.744). In addition, they have the second-most wins in school history behind 31 in 2007, which they will look to pass in the UMAC tournament. The pitching staff struck out by far the most number of hitters in school history at 281 in 319.2 innings. In addition, they had the lowest batting average against at .236 while the previous record was .260. On the offensive side of the ball, they have already set the record for the most doubles at 87. 

Up Next

The Eagles' next contest is in the UMAC tournament. The Eagles are the number one seed in the tournament and will face the winner of Crown College vs. University of Wisconsin-Superior on Thursday, May 20th. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 pm. 

Follow Northwestern baseball online at www.unweagles.com or on Twitter @unwbaseball.