ST. PAUL, Minn. – After a lopsided loss at Macalester College on Tuesday evening, the University of Northwestern Baseball team was in desperate need of a get-right game. Common thought would not suggest that such a game would come against Bethel University, who is ranked 25
th in this week's D3Baseball.com national poll. The unlikelihood was even further increased when UNW ended the seventh inning of Wednesday's tilt against Bethel with zero hits to its name, but rock-solid pitching and defense, plus some opportunistic ninth-inning plate appearances, gave the Eagles an improbable 3-2 win over the ranked Royals.
The game was scoreless through three innings as Northwestern starting pitcher
Noah Skarda (Nipomo, Calif./St. Joseph's) was in the midst of his best outing of the season. Bethel broke the scoreless tie in the fourth innings with a pair of runs, but a double play ended the inning. UNW got runners on base in the fourth (error), fifth (hit batter) and sixth (walk) innings, but wasn't able to produce anything further. After seven innings, the Eagles still did not have a hit but only trailed 2-0 thanks to more great defense and a good relief appearance from
Charlie Hodge (Menahga, Minn./Menahga).
The no-hitter was broken up in the bottom of the eighth inning when
Alex Christian (Andover, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) ripped a lead-off double over the right fielder's head, but three strikeouts ended the threat.
Beau Rabey (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) moved from shortstop to the mound to relieve
Dreyer Homan (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) and pitch a 1-2-3 ninth inning, setting the stage for one final gasp for Northwestern's bats. With the zero-hit monkey off their back, the Eagles dug in.
Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) led off the final frame with a single, then moved to second when
Benji Bruce (Andover, Minn./Maranatha Christian) drew a walk.
Mark Bligh (Sydney, Australia/Magdalene Catholic College) was hit by a pitch to load the bases for
Christian Raya (Moline, Ill./Moline), who already had two grand slams to his credit this season. The sophomore had to settle for an RBI single, but brought UNW within a run with no outs and the bases loaded.
Gabriel Kennedy (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) provided a run "butted" in of sorts, as he took a pitch off the left glute to plate Bruce and tie the game at two-apiece. With the Royals' infield playing in,
Ben Hixon (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville) hit a chopper left of the mound which was mishandled by the Bethel shortstop, allowing
Eli Reeves (White Bear Lake, Minn./White Bear Lake Area)--who pinch-ran for Bligh--to score the winning run. The 3-2 upset snapped the Royals' 15-game winning streak, which dated back to March 27
th.
Northwestern's pitching was the A-topic from the win. Skarda went 5.1 innings and tallied a career-high five strikeouts while holding the Bethel lineup to just two earned runs. Homan, Hodge and Rabey (who earned the win) combined to hold the Royals scoreless in relief, and the latter two held them hitless as well. Severson, Raya and Christian accumulated the Eagles' three hits, while Raya, Kennedy and Hixon produced the three RBI.
UNW will head up north this weekend for a critical series at UW-Superior, beginning Friday at 3:00 PM. Two wins in Superior will guarantee the Eagles a spot in the UMAC Tournament. Catch all the action on the UMAC Sports Network.
