ST. PAUL, Minn.- The outdoor complex at Reynolds Field has been busy this past week and things are not slowing down going into this weekend. No field has been in more use than the baseball diamond this week and the University of Northwestern Baseball team kicked off a busy weekend on the UNW campus with a UMAC contest against Martin Luther. The game marks the first of a three game set and the Eagles took the opener in decisive fashion, 11-2.
After three innings of play between the Eagles and the Knights, a blowout win for the Eagles did not seem to be the most likely scenario to unfold. Martin Luther took an early two run lead before UNW would score 11 unanswered runs to run away with the victory.
One of the themes of Friday afternoon's tilt: fast. It was a fast game as pitchers from both sides worked quickly and hitters were attacking early in counts. It was an absolutely beautiful day at Reynolds Field so fans would not have minded the game taking a little bit longer than it did, but the game sped by in less than two hours. That pace was set in the top of the first inning by the Eagles' starting pitcher,
Andrew Simon (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Mounds View). He recorded the first out of the game on one pitch. Then he recorded the second out of the game on the very next pitch. The third out didn't come on one pitch but Simon pitched a scoreless first inning.
In the second inning, Martin Luther was unable to pick up a hit off of Simon. However, they did score the first run of the game in the frame. Simon walked the leadoff batter and a sacrifice bunt moved the runner to second base. The runner then advanced an additional 90 feet to third base on a groundball to first base. With two outs, a wild pitch brought in the first run of the game.
With two outs in the top of the third, the Knights picked up their first hit of the game off of Simon. After the two out single, a walk, and a wild pitch, the Knights had a two out threat. MLC used an RBI single to centerfield to score another run and extend their lead to 2-0.
Simon was nearly perfect from the fourth inning on in Friday's contest. The freshman did not allow another Knight to cross the plate and finished with a line of eight innings, three hits, two runs, two walks, and five strikeouts.
Dreyer Homan (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) came out of the bullpen in the ninth inning and continued Simon's dominance. Homan pitched a scoreless ninth inning while picking up a strikeout.
Offensively, it was slow going for the Eagles in the early innings. Through three innings, the Eagles had two hits and no runs. Everything changed in the fourth inning as UNW's offense caught fire and put up a plethora of runs in four consecutive frames.
The fourth inning was the one that started the offensive avalanche and it was a familiar face who started the scoring for the Eagles.
Mark Bligh (Sydney, Australia/Magdalene Catholic College) hit a leadoff, solo home run to put UNW on the board. It was Bligh's second consecutive game with a home run. The rest of the Eagles' rally came with one out in the inning.
Isaac Pilon (Robbinsdale, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) doubled,
Ben Hixon (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville) was hit by a pitch, and
Gilbert Garcia Jr. (Stockton, Calif./Saint Mary's) dropped a soft single in the perfect spot in right field to load the bases. With the bases juiced,
Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) tattooed a ball over the third baseman's head into left field which allowed Pilon to score and tie the game.
Braden Storts (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka) gave the Eagles a 3-2 lead with a sac fly to right field; allowing Hixon to score.
Now playing with the lead, the Eagles added three more runs in the fifth. This time, most of the damage came with no outs.
Bryce Crabb (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian) hit a single before the baseball decided that it was really mad at
Mark Bligh (Sydney, Australia/Magdalene Catholic College) for blasting its baseball friend over the fence in his last at bat and it decided to hit him (we shouldn't joke about that because MLB players actually throw baseballs at each other for hitting home runs and its super lame. Rephrase: Bligh was hit by the pitch and took first base).
Grady Karges (Oriska, N.D./Maple Valley) came up to the plate and displayed a perfect example of two strike hitting, poking his bat out and placing the ball down the line to the opposite field for a double. A throwing error by the left fielder allowed both runners to score and Karges ended up at third after all of the chaos. Hixon brought home Karges with a sac fly and UNW led 6-2 after five innings.
In the sixth inning, the Eagles scored three runs for a third consecutive frame. Bligh came up with the bases loaded and got hit by a pitch again (if we had a dime for every time Bligh was hit by a pitch this game, we would have two dimes. Which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice, right?). Karges ripped a single to right centerfield for two more RBIs to add to his resume and UNW held a 9-2 lead.
In the seventh, Severson brought home Hixon with an RBI double and then came around to score himself on Storts' double. The Eagles were unable to get one more run to end the game early but held on to win 11-2 in nine innings.
Severson was 3-5 with two RBIs while Karges had two hits and three runs batted in. Storts had a pair of hits and a pair of RBIs and Bligh scored two runs and had two RBIs. The Eagles' offense finished with 12 hits and drew seven walks.
Northwestern's three game series with Martin Luther will resume tomorrow (Saturday, April 6
th) at Reynolds Field. It is expected to be a warm and sunny day once again with the games scheduled for 2:00pm and 4:30pm.
