St. Paul, Minn. –– In its first game in NCAA tournament competition, the No. 4 University of Northwestern Eagles baseball team (33-10) knocked off No. 3 Misericordia University (29-9) 6-3 on Friday evening.
The Eagles jumped out to an early 2-0 lead thanks to three straight hits to open the contest. Andrew Simonson (Hudson, Wis./East Ridge) and Sam Peterson (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) led off the frame with singles before Keegan Vercoe (Queen Creek, Ariz./Poston Butte) hit a ground-rule double to center to bring home Simonson. If the ball had stayed in the park, Peterson would have scored, but he came around to score anyways when Wyatt Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool) reached via an error.
In their tenth consecutive NCAA Tournament, the Cougars responded with a quick solo run in the bottom half. The leadoff hitter reached on a wild pitch on a strikeout, moved to second on a single, advanced to third on a fly ball, and scored on a sacrifice fly to cut the lead in half.
In the battle of two aces, Owen Boerema (Litchfield, Minn./Litchfield) proved his mettle by only allowing four hits in his complete game. The Eagles managed to chase the Cougars' ace in the fourth, though. After Misericordia tied the game in the bottom of the second, Northwestern took the lead for good. Vercoe led off with a double before Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) switched places with him to make it 3-2. Severson advanced on Morrell's productive groundout, and Bryce Crabb (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian) hit a sacrifice fly in his return to the lineup to make it 4-2.
The Eagles followed up their two runs in the third with two more in the fourth to force the Cougars to go to the bullpen. Simonson hit a double to left with two outs, and he came around to score on Peterson's single to left. Vercoe moved Peterson into scoring position, and the senior SS scored on Severson's RBI single back up the middle. After that, the Cougars made their move which resulted in 5.1 scoreless innings from the bullpen.
Both offenses were shut out in the middle innings, and the next significant threats for both teams came in the eighth, with Northwestern still holding a 6-2 lead. Carlton Lindow (Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls) smacked a single back up the middle to continue his hot streak from the UMAC Tournament, and Simonson followed with a single after a nine-pitch at-bat to move the senior catcher to third. The two runners were left stranded, but the Cougars managed to capitalize in the bottom half of the frame. Misericordia loaded the bases on two hit by pitches and a walk, with a flyout to center mixed in between them. The next batter hit a fly to right, and Simonson gunned down the runner from second advancing to third to complete the double play. The run did count to cut the lead to three, but Northwestern managed to escape by only giving up the one run.
In the ninth, a hit by pitch and error put two runners on with no outs. A strikeout and two flyouts followed to send the Eagles to the winner's side of the bracket.
Simonson, Peterson, and Vercoe each had three hits on the day as the top of the order led the offense. Severson followed with two hits in the cleanup spot, as the top four batters recorded eleven of the thirteen Eagle hits.
Owen Boerema (Litchfield, Minn./Litchfield) threw a complete game, struck out six, allowed four hits, and gave up two earned runs (one unearned run). The senior continued to showcase his excellent stuff and carried that over to shut down one of the top teams in the country.
Up Next
Northwestern is once again the road team (due to a coinflip) against No. 5 Saint Mary's. First pitch is scheduled for 6 pm on Saturday evening.
For more information about the NCAA Regional, go to www.unweagles.com or follow @UNWBaseball on Twitter.
NCAA Tournament Schedule
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Game One: Trinity (TX) vs. Johns Hopkins; Johns Hopkins won 11-2
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Game Two: Aurora vs. Saint Mary's: Saint Mary's won 15-13
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Game Three: Misericordia vs. Northwestern: Northwestern won 6-3
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Game Four: Trinity (TX) vs. Aurora (11:00 AM on Saturday)
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Game Five: Johns Hopkins vs. Misericordia (2:30 PM on Saturday)
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Game Six: Saint Mary's vs. Northwestern (6:00 PM on Saturday)
Saturday's results will determine the schedule for Sunday and Monday. It is a double-elimination tournament, so the schedule will depend on how many teams remain.
⚾ We spoke with Coach Hieb, Sam Peterson (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin), and Owen Boerema (Litchfield, Minn./Litchfield) following UNW Baseball's 6-3 win over Misericordia in their first ever NCAA Regional playoff game in program history! 🦅 #CompeteWithPurpose #d3baseball
Posted by University of Northwestern Athletics on Friday, May 28, 2021
