St. Paul, Minn. –– In one of the most electric and exhilarating games in Reynolds Field history, No. 4 Northwestern (34-10) defeated No. 5 Saint Mary's (30-15) 3-1 on Saturday night. Bryce Crabb (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian) threw a complete game, while the offense scored three runs in the eighth to do just enough to move to 2-0 in the NCAA Regional. Northwestern joins five St. Scholastica teams (2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2017) as the only UMAC teams to win two or more games in a Regional. The 2008 St. Scholastica team is the only UMAC team to ever win three games in an NCAA Regional.

Andrew Simonson (Hudson, Wis./East Ridge) led off the game with a double that landed just fair down the left-field line. He cruised into second with a double but was eventually doubled off of second when Sam Peterson (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) hit a fly ball to left that was caught after it just missed scraping the fence. 

Saint Mary's scored their only run of the game in the bottom of the second. The Cardinals recorded a one-out single to center, and it became first and second after a five-pitch walk. The following batter hit a sharp single to center and scored thanks to very aggressive base running. The Cardinals tried to steal a run on the next batter as he just beat out a double-play ball. The runner from second kept going and tried to score on the play, but he was thrown out at the plate to end the frame.

The Cardinals had a runner on second in both the third and the fourth innings, but Bryce Crabb (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian) buckled down on the mound, as he refused to let Saint Mary's add onto their lead. Ryan Wolfe threw an absolute gem for Saint Mary's and matched Crabb zero for zero, except the Cardinals did have the one solo run which held up all the way until the top of the eighth. After Crabb singled with one out in the second, Wolfe retired sixteen of seventeen Northwestern batters. The only one to reach was Philip Wall (Juneau, Alaska/IDEA) who recorded a single in the fifth, but he was erased three pitches later on a double-play ball.

In the top of the eighth, Crabb took a trip around the base paths which no one will soon forget. After two foul balls, Crabb smacked his second single of the night, this time to right field. Wall followed and was asked to bunt. After missing on his first bunt attempt, Saint Mary's back-picked Crabb at first and would have gotten the out if the first baseman didn't drop the ball. Wall got the second pitch down and moved Crabb to second via the bunt. Mason Skrede (Viroqua, Wis./Viroqua) came up as a pinch hitter and he hit a chopper towards short. Crabb broke on the play to third and an errant throw that was dropped allowed for Crabb to slide in safely at third with runners on the corners and one out. After a strikeout, Simonson smoked a single through the third base and shortstop hole to tie the game at one. Sam Peterson (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) followed and this time, unlike in the first inning, his towering fly ball hit off the fence and brought the go-ahead runs across the plate to take the 3-1 lead.

In the bottom of the eighth, Saint Mary's put runners on the corners with two-outs, but Crabb got the final out on an outside fastball to record the punchout. The Cardinals did not let up in the ninth either. They recorded a one-out walk before a spectacular diving effort by Sam Peterson (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) forced the lead runner at second. After a pop-up, the Cardinals drew an eight-pitch walk and recorded an infield single to load the bases and put the tying run in scoring position. The following batter hit a line drive to right that Simonson tracked down to end the game.

Northwestern took advantage of the one major opportunity that they had in the eighth while taking advantage of two defensive miscues, as the offense did just enough in support of Crabb. In Crabb's nine innings of work, he gave up ten hits, struck out five, and only allowed the one earned run. In addition, Crabb and Simonson were the only Eagles to record two hits as the offense was limited to seven hits in the contest. 

Up Next

Northwestern will be the home team against either No. 5 Saint Mary's or No. 6 Johns Hopkins. Those two teams meet in an elimination game tomorrow at 11:00, while the winner advances to play the Eagles. First pitch is scheduled for 6 pm on Sunday evening.

NCAA Tournament Schedule

• Game One: Trinity (TX) vs. Johns Hopkins; Johns Hopkins won 11-2

• Game Two: Aurora vs. Saint Mary's: Saint Mary's won 15-13

• Game Three: Misericordia vs. Northwestern: Northwestern won 6-3

• Game Four: Trinity (TX) vs. Aurora; Aurora won 14-9

• Game Five: Johns Hopkins vs. Misericordia; Misericordia won 11-4

• Game Six: Saint Mary's vs. Northwestern; Northwestern won 3-1

• Game Seven: Saint Mary's vs. Johns Hopkins (11:00 AM on Sunday)

• Game Eight: Aurora vs. Misericordia (2:30 PM on Sunday)

• Game Nine: Northwestern vs. Saint Mary's/Johns Hopkins (6:00 PM on Sunday)

The scenarios for Monday are as follows. If Northwestern wins Sunday night, they will play the winner of Aurora and Misericordia at 11:00 AM in the championship. Northwestern will only need to win one game, while Aurora/Misericordia will need to beat Northwestern twice to win the regional. Game Two, if it is necessary, will begin at 2:30 PM.

If Northwestern loses on Sunday night, they will still face the winner of Aurora and Misericordia at 11:00 AM, but this time in an elimination game. The winner of that game will then face Saint Mary's/Johns Hopkins at 2:30 PM in the winner-take-all championship game.