ST. PAUL, Minn.- The University of Northwestern Baseball team's busy week continued on Friday night when they hosted Bethany Lutheran at Reynolds Field for the first two games of a three game series. The visiting Vikings swept the doubleheader by winning game one 7-6 and game two 11-6.
Game One
The first game of Friday's doubleheader was an entertaining, well-played, and back and forth contest between the Eagles and the Vikings. Bethany Lutheran came out swinging (literally) as the first three hitters in the lineup opened the game with base hits, highlighted by a leadoff triple to start the game. The next three hitters would be retired, but the Vikings took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the first inning.
The Eagles would immediately get one of those runs back with their first opportunity to swing the bats.
Isaac Pilon (Robbinsdale, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) and
Gilbert Garcia Jr. (Stockton, Cali./Saint Mary's) each hit singles in the opening frame and
Grady Karges (Oriska, N.D./Maple Valley) drew a walk to load the bases. Pilon would score on a passed ball before the Vikings would work their way out of the jam. UNW trailed 3-1 after the first inning.
Bethany's offense went right back to work in the top of the second inning when another RBI single made it a 4-1 game. UNW would not score in the bottom of the frame.
Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) got the start on the mound for the home club and he was coming off of his best start of the season so far. After giving up some runs early, he buckled down by pitching scoreless third and fourth innings.
UNW chipped into the lead some more in the bottom of the third inning. Pilon scored his and the team's second run of the game when a ball hit by
Ben Hixon (Yorkville, Illinois/Yorkville) was misplayed by the Vikings. The score was 4-2 in favor of BLC entering the middle innings.
In the top half of the fifth inning, the Vikings continued to play team baseball and move the line along to score runs. They did not get a lot of big, extra base hits but excelled in stringing base hits together. In the fifth inning, two more RBI singles gave them a 6-2 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Eagles began charging back into the game. It started when freshman
Ben Hixon (Yorkville, Illinois/Yorkville) delivered his best swing as a college baseball player so far and drilled his first career homerun to right center field. The solo shot also shot some much needed life into the Eagles, who now trailed 6-3.
Grady Karges (Oriska, N.D./Maple Valley) then followed up the homerun by drawing a walk and then came around to score on a
Ben Spores (Arlington, Wash./Arlington) double.
UNW completed the comeback in the bottom of the sixth inning. The first two outs of the inning came quickly before Pilon would deliver another hit. With Pilon on first and two down in the inning,
Gilbert Garcia Jr. (Stockton, Cali./Saint Mary's) came up to the plate and tied the game with one swing. The freshman hit his team leading second homerun of the season to tie the game at 6-6.
Nick Drinken (Randolph, Minn./Randolph) came in to pitch for the Eagles and held BLC scoreless through the sixth and seventh innings while working himself out of a couple of jams. In the eighth inning, a walk to the Vikings' leadoff batter would prove costly as he would come around to score the winning run. BLC won a thrilling game, 7-6.
Game Two
The second game of the doubleheader was also a back and forth affair in the early innings. BLC scored a single run in each of the first two innings to take a 2-0 lead. However, just as in the opener, UNW fought back to tie the game. In the third inning,
Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) ripped a triple down the right field line that scored
Isaac Pilon (Robbinsdale, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) and
Beau Rabey (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake). The game was locked in a 2-2 tie.
The teeter-totter nature of this contest continued through the fourth frame. Once again, the Vikings got a run in the top of the inning and it was immediately answered by the Eagles in the bottom of the frame. This time it was
Bryce Crabb (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian), who also pitched for UNW, who hit an RBI single that scored
Daniel Peterson (Burlington, Wis./Burlington). The scoreboard read 3-3 through four.
Crabb pitched a scoreless top of the fifth, and in the bottom of the inning the Eagles took their first lead of the day.
Ben Spores (Arlington, Wash./Arlington) scored on a
Grady Karges (Oriska, N.D./Maple Valley) base hit to give the Eagles a 4-3 lead.
Crabb also held the Vikings scoreless in the sixth before the visitors went on their big run in the seventh and eighth innings. BLC used two RBI doubles, an RBI single, and a batter who was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score six runs total in the seventh and eighth innings.
The Eagles would get two runs back in the eighth, but the Vikings would answer with two of their own in the ninth to get the game to its final score of 11-6.
Up Next
The final game of the three game series between Northwestern and Bethany Lutheran will be tomorrow (Saturday, April 15th) at noon.
