ST. PAUL, Minn.- The University of Northwestern Baseball team entered the week thinking that would play a three game series against North Central to open UMAC play. They were correct. However, they believed they would play those games on the road on Friday and Saturday. Due to the weather that popped up this week, the Eagles rearranged their schedule. They played all three games at Reynolds Field (with North Central serving as the home team) and game one took place on Tuesday. The final two games of the three game set took place on Thursday in a doubleheader. After winning the opener on Tuesday, the Eagles competed the season series sweep of the Rams with 10-0 and 7-4 wins.
Game One
Despite scoring ten runs in the game, the Eagles never put together a monster inning where they put up a crooked number. Consistency was the key for UNW's offense; scoring in six of the eight innings played. UNW never scored more than three runs in a single inning but they just kept adding runs in each frame throughout the contest and pulled away to win in decisive fashion.
The scoring started immediately for UNW in the top of the first (if you don't know by now that the Eagles were playing as the road team in this series despite the games being at Reynolds Field, we really can't help you. We feel like we have said it at least 75 times this week).
Braden Storts (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka), the Eagles' leadoff man, reached on an error and stole second base despite numerous pickoff attempts by the Rams.
Mark Bligh (Sydney, Australia/Magdalene Catholic College), the very next Eagle batter, singled him home. UNW led 1-0 after half an inning.
Bryce Crabb (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian) was the Eagle starter toeing the rubber in the opener on Thursday and he gave up a leadoff base hit before inducing three groundball outs to pitch a scoreless first inning.
The top of the second inning was eventful to say the least. UNW hit three straight doubles to begin the frame and scored two runs to extend their lead to three.
Grady Karges (Oriska, N.D./Maple Valley),
Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights), and
Braden Storts (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka) were the trio of Eagles who delivered the doubles.
Crabb came back out to the mound in the bottom of the second inning and must have decided that it was way colder on the mound than it was in the dugout, so he decided to make the trip back to the dugout almost immediately. The right hander struck out the side. UNW didn't score in the top of the third or fourth innings but Crabb threw 1-2-3 innings in the third and fourth as well to keep UNW ahead 3-0.
With one out in the top of the fifth,
Gilbert Garcia Jr. (Stockton, Calif./Saint Mary's) ripped a ball to the gap in right center and ran as if it was 31 degrees outside and he wanted to stay warm (which… it was). The motored all the way around to third base for a triple and came into score on
Ben Hixon's (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville) RBI single. Crabb gave up a single in the bottom of the fifth but the baserunner was erased by an inning ending double play. UNW led 4-0 after five.
Crabb pitched a scoreless sixth inning as well while not allowing a hit. That ended up being his last inning of work. Crabb finished the game with another gem of a performance; going six shutout innings, giving up two hits, one walk, and four strikeouts on his way to his second win of the season.
Caleb Hautajarvi (Barnum, Minn./Barnum Secondary), a freshman who quickly ascended to the role as one of the Eagles' most consistent relief pitchers, threw two shutout innings to end the contest. He picked up three strikeouts and did not give up a hit.
While Crabb and Hautajarvi were busy slamming the door on the Rams, the Eagles' offense kept adding insurance. Hautajarvi helped his own cause at the plate by hitting a leadoff triple in the sixth. Karges singled him home. In the top of the seventh inning, Karges came up to the plate again and delivered the biggest swing of the game. He blasted a two run home run over the right field fence that scored Hautajarvi. Prior to that, Hautajarvi had singled and an error allowed
Isaac Pilon (Robbinsdale, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) to score. UNW scored three in the seventh, highlighted by the home run. The Eagles got a pair of runs in the eighth thanks to sacrifice flies from Pilon and Hautajarvi. UNW ended game one in eight innings, 10-0.
Game Two
The third and final game of the series between the Eagles and the Rams was the closest of the trio and the only one to require all nine innings to be played. The Eagles went down scoreless in the top of the first before
Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) pitched a shutout bottom of the frame as well to start the contest.
UNW put up a crooked number in the top of the second inning to take an early lead in the finale.
Grady Karges (Oriska, N.D./Maple Valley) continued his big afternoon with a leadoff double and came around to score when
CJ Toutant (Dodge, Wis./Homeschool) reached on an error.
Beau Rabey (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) and
Braden Storts (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka) were each hit by a pitch (which we're sure wouldn't have been so bad if it was 80 degrees outside instead of 30) to load the bases. Toutant and Rabey came in to score when
Benji Bruce (Minneapolis, Minn./Maranatha Christian) picked up base hit. Storts crossed the plate when the next batter,
Mark Bligh (Sydney, Australia/Magdalene Catholic College), picked up an RBI single as well. Severson put up another zero in the bottom of the second and UNW led 4-0 after the big inning.
The third inning began when
Gilbert Garcia Jr. (Stockton, Calif./Saint Mary's) hit a leadoff double. Karges (who was on fire despite the frigid temperatures) brought him in with a single. North Central would get that run back in the bottom of the third when they scored their first run of the series. UNW led 5-1 entering the fourth.
The fourth inning was the best of the entire series for North Central. They pitched a scoreless top of the inning and scored three runs in the home half. The Rams had cut UNW' lead to 5-4.
UNW built their lead back up with single runs in both the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth inning, Garcia Jr. singled home Bruce who had doubled to get into scoring position. In the sixth inning, Brice Campbell pinch ran and scored on an RBI single by Storts.
Caleb Hautajarvi (Barnum, Minn./Barnum Secondary), a freshman reliever, shone in game one and in game two it was another freshman relief pitcher who ended up being one of the stars of the game.
Andrew Simon (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Mounds View) entered the game in relief in the fourth inning and was lights out for the Eagles out of the bullpen. He pitched 5.2 innings, gave up one hit, one walk, no runs, and struck out two. UNW won the contest 7-4.
Up Next
The Eagles made another schedule change on Thursday morning when they moved this upcoming Monday's doubleheader against St. John's to mid-April. That means the next time the Eagles will be in action will be on Friday, March 29
th at Reynolds Field when they continue UMAC play against Minnesota-Morris.
