MANKATO, Minn.- When the University of Northwestern Baseball team made the drive down to Mankato on Friday afternoon; they knew what, and who, was waiting for them. UNW's road trip down US-169 brought them face-to-face with the best that UMAC Baseball has to offer. Before the game on Friday afternoon, the Bethany Lutheran Vikings were able to say that they were in first place and undefeated in the UMAC. After a matchup with the Eagles, the Vikings still have possession of that first place position, but they no longer have the claim of being unbeaten in the conference.
This weekend put two of the top teams in the conference on the diamond together at ISG Field in Mankato. Entering the three game series, Bethany Lutheran was 12-0 in UMAC play and Northwestern was tight on their heels at 9-3. That gap got a little bit smaller on Friday afternoon. The Eagles won the opening game of the three game set; handing the Vikings their first conference loss of the season, 11-4.
Head Coach
Jesse Eikum, in his first season as the Eagles' head coach, had his team primed and ready to go from the first pitch on Friday (that is not an expression, we mean that quite literally). In the opening at bat of the game, the top team in the UMAC got an early introduction to one of the top freshman in the conference. UNW freshman
Braden Storts (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka) started the game with a leadoff triple. In the next at bat,
Bryce Crabb (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian) hit a sacrifice fly ball to centerfield to bring Storts in to score. After two at bats, UNW held a 1-0 lead.
Nick Drinken (Randolph, Minn./Randolph) was handed the ball on the mound for the Eagles in Friday's opener. He collected the first two outs of the game quickly, one of them via swinging strikeout, before giving up a two out single. He retired the next batter to pitch a scoreless first.
The Eagles' hot start was not contained to the first inning. In the top of the second, they added three more runs.
Isaac Pilon (Robbinsdale, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) and
Benji Bruce (Minneapolis, Minn./Maranatha Christian) started the frame with singles before the first two outs were recorded. With two outs,
Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) came up to the plate for the first time. Severson would be one of the main Eagles responsible for Friday's win and his impact started in his first at bat of the game. He picked up a two out single to score Pilon and move Bruce all the way up to third base. The lineup turned over and Storts dug into the box for the second time. He hit a ball to the outfield that was misplayed by the Vikings' right fielder. The error allowed both runners to score and UNW had a 4-0 lead.
The Eagles would go down scoreless in the third and fourth innings. However, Drinken did not allow BLC to start to chip into that Eagle lead. He gave up a single in the bottom of the second but still faced the minimum as
Gilbert Garcia Jr. (Stockton, Calif./Saint Mary's) threw out the runner trying to steal second base. He gave up a leadoff double in the third inning but worked around it, still keeping the Vikings off the scoreboard. He pitched his first 1-2-3 inning of the game in the fourth.
Entering the top of the fifth, UNW still held a four run lead. At the end of the top of the fifth, that four run Eagle lead had doubled in size. After the leadoff batter was retired, the next four UNW batters reached base.
Grady Karges (Oriska, N.D./Maple Valley) singled before Pilon and Bruce followed that up with more singles of their own. Bruce's single scored Karges.
Ben Hixon (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. With the bases juiced, Severson came up to the plate once again. And once again, he came through with a run scoring hit. This time, it was a double that cleared the bases. UNW's lead had ballooned to 8-0.
Drinken continued his rhythm on the hill. After a 1-2-3 fourth inning, he did it again in the fifth. He did give up a leadoff single in the sixth but nothing more. The Eagle right hander had blanked the undefeated Vikings through six innings.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Vikings' offense showed some life for the first time. They used a two run home run, an RBI double, and a run scoring single to score four runs in the frame. At the end of seven innings, the Eagles' lead had been cut in half but UNW was still on top 8-4.
UNW responded in the late innings by adding to their lead. In the top of the eighth, Crabb crossed the plate on Karges' sac fly. In the top of the ninth, Crabb hit an RBI double and
Mark Bligh (Sydney, Australia/Magdalene Catholic College) collected an RBI single.
Dreyer Homan (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) pitched the final two innings for the Eagles. In his two innings, he gave up a walk, no hits, and no runs. UNW held on for the 11-4 win.
Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) was 3-4, with a run scored, and four RBIs.
Grady Karges (Oriska, N.D./Maple Valley) was 3-5 while scoring a run and driving in a run.
Braden Storts (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka),
Mark Bligh (Sydney, Australia/Magdalene Catholic College),
Isaac Pilon (Robbinsdale, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong), and
Benji Bruce (Minneapolis, Minn./Maranatha Christian) all had two hits each.
The Eagles collected a big win on Friday but the series against the Vikings is far from over. The two teams will play two more times in Mankato on Saturday. There is an added urgency around this series as the Eagles are now two games behind the Vikings for the conference lead. First pitch for Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled for 2:00 PM.
