ST. PAUL, Minn.- "Wild" might be the best way to describe the UMAC Baseball conference championship race in 2024 as four teams remain in the mix for a share of the conference title all the way to the final day of the season. "Wild" also is the perfect description for the game that the University of Northwestern Eagles and the Crown College Polars played against each other on Friday night. The lead continued to change hands in the late innings before Crown delivered the final blow; winning 6-5 in walk-off fashion.
The Eagles and Polars played the series opener on Friday night and will play a doubleheader on Saturday to complete their three game series and the UMAC regular season schedule. This three game set was originally scheduled to be on the road for the Eagles in St. Bonifacius, the home of the Polars. However, due to field conditions in St. Boni, the series was moved to Reynolds Field. Crown still served as the home team as the Eagles took their hacks at the plate in the top half of the frames instead.
Pitching was the story early on in this contest.
Nick Drinken (Randolph, Minn./Randolph) set down six of the first seven Crown batters he faced. The Eagles also struggled to warm up the bats early in the contest, only managing one base runner their first time through the order. The game was locked in a scoreless tie before Crown broke through in the "home half" of the third. They used two singles, a double, and a stolen base to string together their first runs of the game. Crown led 2-0 after three innings.
Both starting pitchers were tremendous throughout the middle innings. Drinken, along with Crown's starting pitcher, each put up zeroes in every inning until the eighth inning arrived. After seven innings of play from Reynolds Field, Crown still clung to a 2-0 lead.
The action really got started in the eighth inning. What had been a pitchers' duel from the first pitch through the seventh inning, turned into a back-and-forth shootout featuring a lot of offensive fireworks over the final two frames.
Trailing 2-0 in the top of the eighth,
Gilbert Garcia Jr. (Stockton, Calif./Saint Mary's) and
Braden Storts (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka) started an Eagle rally with singles.
Bryce Crabb (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian) doubled them both home to tie the game in the blink of an eye. UNW wasn't done there. They had finally chased the Polars' starting pitcher from the game and went to work attacking the bullpen. Crabb moved to third base on a wild pitch and
Mark Bligh (Sydney, Australia/Magdalene Catholic College) drew a walk.
Grady Karges (Oriska, N.D./Maple Valley) grounded out but picked up the go-ahead RBI as Crabb scampered home to score. Bligh, who was now on second, moved up another 90 feet on a passed ball.
Isaac Pilon (Robbinsdale, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) walked and
Benji Bruce (Minneapolis, Minn./Maranatha Christian) singled to score Bligh. The rally ended there, but not before UNW's offense had exploded for four runs and given the Eagles a two run lead.
The Polars, who were now trailing for the first time in the game, answered back with a big inning of their own in the bottom of the eighth. They used a two run double and an RBI single to score three runs and reclaim possession of the lead. The Polars got into the Eagles' bullpen during the frame as
Caleb Hautajarvi (Barnum, Minn./Barnum Secondary) had come in to pitch. Entering the ninth inning, Crown led Northwestern 5-4.
The late game heroics were not limited to the eighth inning; they continued in the ninth.
Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) drew a one out walk to put the tying run on base. The next Eagle batter struck out but Severson had advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Down by a run in the ninth inning, with two outs, one of the most clutch hitters in program history came to the plate. Spoiler alert: he came through again.
Bryce Crabb (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian) delivered an RBI single. The Eagles had tied the game at 5-5.
The game moved into the bottom of the ninth inning locked in a tie. Crown hit a lead-off triple which meant that the Eagles would need to do some maneuvering to survive the ninth inning and force extra innings. UNW intentionally walked the next two batters to load the bases and set up a force out at each base. The next Polar hit a ground ball to the left side of the infield. The Eagles kept it in the infield but were unable to record an out. Crown had walked off on the Eagles, winning 6-5.
The final Saturday of the regular season will be an epic one at Reynolds Field. Game one of the doubleheader between the Eagles and the Polars is scheduled for a 1:00 PM start. Bethany Lutheran defeated Wisconsin-Superior in convincing fashion on Friday afternoon which means the Vikings have a two game lead atop the UMAC. The 2024 UMAC Baseball standings are as follows: Bethany Lutheran (16-3 UMAC), Northwestern (14-5 UMAC), Crown (14-5 UMAC), and Wisconsin-Superior (13-6 UMAC). All four of the UMAC's playoff teams will play against each other on Saturday.
