FORT PIERCE, Fla. – The University of Northwestern's final day of competition in Florida was a busy one, as the Eagles played just their second doubleheader of the trip. Friday's foe was Franciscan University, whom they played two, seven-inning games against. An explosive third inning put Northwestern in front in game one, but they couldn't hang on, suffering a 5-4 loss. UNW's fortunes reversed in the second game, as it survived a late surge from the Barons to earn a 6-5 win to close out the trip.
Game One
Northwestern's first threat of game one came in the top of the second inning with Franciscan holding a 1-0 edge.
Benji Bruce (Andover, Minn./Maranatha Christian) singled to lead off the inning, then stole second before
Caleb Vereide (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna) drew a walk. Both runners then stole bases to move into scoring position, but three straight outs stranded them both.
The following inning's threat was a little more productive for the Eagles.
Beau Rabey (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) reached first base on an error to lead off the inning, then consecutive singles by
Braden Storts (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka) and
Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) scored him to tie the game. Storts and Severson pulled off a double steal to move into scoring position, then Bruce walked to load the bases for Vereide. The junior singled Storts home to take a 2-1 lead, then
Ben Hixon (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville) drove in both Severson and Bruce to make it 4-1.
The Eagles got two more runners on base in the fourth, but two-consecutive strikeouts ended the inning. They tried to add some insurance runs in the seventh after
Mark Bligh (Sydney, Australia/Magdalene Catholic College) and Bruce singled to start the inning but nothing came of it. With only three outs separating Northwestern and a win, disaster struck in the bottom of the seventh. The Barons scored three runs to tie the game up with just one out recorded, then added the game-winner on a walk-off single with two outs.
Hixon went 2-4 with two RBI to lead UNW's offensive output. Storts and Bruce each added two hits, while Severson and Vereide each drove in one run each.
Jayden King (Wahpeton, N.D./Wahepton Senior) was outstanding on the bump, giving up just one earned run in 5.0 innings and striking out six.
Caleb Hautajarvi (Barnum, Minn./Barnum Secondary) took the loss after giving up four earned runs in 1.2 innings of work.
Game Two
The Florida finale saw much more consistent offense from Northwestern. After giving up a run in the top of the first inning, the Eagles matched it in the bottom half. The counter-punch started with
Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) being hit by a pitch, then advancing to second on a groundout by
Mark Bligh (Sydney, Australia/Magdalene Catholic College). He came around to score on a single by
Benji Bruce (Andover, Minn./Maranatha Christian) to even the game at one-apiece.
Franciscan answered right back with another run in the top of the second, but UNW once again responded immediately when
Gabriel Kennedy (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) launched a two-run home run to make it 3-2 in favor of the purple and gold.
The Eagles made it three straight innings with runs on the board to open the game when Severson singled to lead off the bottom of the third and scored on a two-run bomb by Bruce.
Ben Hixon (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville) moved into scoring position later in the inning after singling and advancing on an error, but the inning ended with Northwestern ahead, 5-2.
UNW took one inning off from scoring, but resumed its scoring ways in the bottom of the fifth.
Caleb Vereide (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna) reached on a fielder's choice, then advanced to second on a single by Hixon. Vereide came around to score on a double by
Tony Greco (Janesville, Wis./Janesville Craig), then Kennedy walked to load the bases with two outs. The three runners would be left on base after a groundout, keeping the score at 6-2, Eagles.
After a Northwestern pitching change, Franciscan made things interesting with three runs in the top of the sixth inning to pull within one. The Barons got the tying run to third base in the top of the seventh, but strikeouts by
Christian Raya (Moline, Ill./Moline) and
Dreyer Homan (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) ended the game with UNW on top, 6-5.
Bruce was on fire at the dish in game two, going 3-3 with three RBI. Hixon had Northwestern's other multi-hit game with a 2-3 outing, while Kennedy drove in two runs and Greco one. Severson earned the win on the mound after striking out five in 5.0 innings.
Up Next
The Eagles will return home to Minnesota this weekend to prepare for a doubleheader with Bethel University. The games are currently scheduled for 3:00 and 5:30 PM on Wednesday, March 19
th, pending optimal weather. Stay tuned to unweagles.com for more updates.
