ST. PAUL, Minn.- The University of Northwestern Baseball team competed in two UMAC Postseason Tournament games on Friday afternoon. The Eagles defeated Bethany Lutheran 10-0 to advance to the tournament semifinals where they fell 7-1 to Crown College and were eliminated from the tournament.
Game One
It took the Eagles' offense a little bit of time to get rolling in the opener on Friday afternoon, but once they got it rolling, they were hard to stop. The visiting Vikings and the host Eagles were locked in a scoreless tie after three and a half innings. In the bottom of the fourth, the Eagles' offense found its groove.
Guerin Szafraniec (Brighton, Colo./Brighton) and
Ben Spores (Arlington, Wash./Arlington) were able to get on base and it was
Trey Boushee (Fosston, Minn./Fosston) who knocked them home. Boushee hit a single through the right side that found its way to the outfield and the Eagles led 2-0.
The Eagles' offense didn't stop in the fifth inning.
Isaac Pilon (Robbinsdale, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) came up to the plate after an intentional walk issued by the Vikings loaded up the bases. Pilon then drew an unintentional walk to drive in another Eagle run. The Eagles led 3-0 after five innings.
The floodgates would open up in the sixth inning.
Sam Peterson (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) drove in two runs with a single, and then
Ben Spores (Arlington, Wash./Arlington) did the same thing with a two run single of his own.
Trey Boushee (Fosston, Minn./Fosston) would then drive in another run with a ground ball to the short stop. In the seventh inning,
Keegan Vercoe (Queen Creek, Ariz./Poston Butte) drove in
Bryce Crabb (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian) with a single to make the score 9-0. In the 8
th inning,
Payton Christenson (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls) would hit a "walkoff" single that would give the Eagles the eight inning, ten run rule victory. UNW advanced to the next round of the tournament with a 10-0 win.
Owen Boerema (Litchfield, Minn./Litchfield), in what would end up being his final pitching performance at Reynolds Field in 2022, was simply magnificent once again. The junior has had many spectacular performances this season, but not many were much more impressive than what he did in his only appearance in the UMAC Tournament on Friday. Boerema pitched 8 innings, only gave up 1 hit, 1 walk, and struck out 15 batters. It was yet another shutout turned in by the lefthander and it gave the Eagles the tournament victory.
Game Two
With the win over Bethany Lutheran, the Eagles advanced to play the #2 seeded Crown College, needing a win to advance to the Championship game(s) on Saturday. The Eagles' bats struggled to get going in the contest.
UNW was shutout for the first eight innings of the game. The Eagles were able to scrape together four hits in the contest, and a couple of those hits came in the ninth inning when they were finally able to crack the scoreboard. With two outs in the ninth inning,
Sam Peterson (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) hit a deep double to the wall in right field that scored
Bryce Crabb (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian). This was the only run of the game for the #1 seeded Eagles.
On the other side,
Nick Drinken (Randolph, Minn./Randolph) got the start for the Eagles in the elimination game, and got off to a good start. Drinken held the explosive Crown offense scoreless for two innings before the Polars were able to deliver a two run double to take the 2-0 lead in the third inning.
After surrendering the two runs in the third, Drinken settled into a rhythm. The sophomore pitched a scoreless fourth, fifth, and sixth. In the seventh inning, the Polars would put a five run rally together to take a 7-0 lead. Only five of the seven runs in the game were earned runs.
Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) would come in to the game in relief and pitch three scoreless innings while picking up three strikeouts.
Up Next
The Eagles have been eliminated from the UMAC Postseason Tournament as the Crown College Polars will meet the Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets in the championship game(s) tomorrow afternoon. The Eagles' season is not finished as due to meeting the requirements in the regular season have qualified for the National Christian College Athletic Association National Tournament and have been named the NCCAA North Central Region Representative in the tournament. The Eagles will compete for a National Championship this upcoming week with dates and opponents to be announced. The tournament will be held in Kansas City, MO. Follow along at unweagles.com for updates on the Eagles' national tournament schedule.
