SUPERIOR, Wis. – In game one of a weekend series with major UMAC Baseball Tournament implications, the University of Northwestern needed extra-innings to defeat the University of Wisconsin-Superior, but never trailed in the contest. UNW jumped out to an early lead and responded well to ninth-inning adversity, plating one final run in the 10
th inning to win, 4-3. Northwestern now needs just one more win this weekend to clinch a spot in the UMAC Tournament.
The Eagles came out hot in the top of the first inning, as
Mark Bligh (Sydney, Australia/Magdalene Catholic College) clubbed a ground-rule double to score
Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights).
Benji Bruce (Andover, Minn./Maranatha Christian), who singled to get on base, was brought home by a
Christian Raya (Moline, Ill./Moline) sacrifice fly to make it 2-0. UWS answered with a run in the bottom of the inning to trim its deficit to 2-1, but UNW countered in the top of the third. It was once again Raya driving in the run, plating Severson, who singled to lead off the inning, to move ahead, 3-1.
Northwestern filled the bases with two outs in the fourth inning, but was unable to capitalize. The scoring hit a stalemate as freshman
Jayden King (Wahpeton, N.D./Wahepton Senior) dealt on the mound for the Eagles, until the seventh inning, when the Yellowjackets homered to make it a 3-2 game. The tying run reached scoring position in the inning, but
Andrew Simon (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Mounds View) slammed the door shut. However, UW-Superior was able to tie the game in the ninth inning to provide some free baseball.
The 10
th-inning rally began with
Gabriel Kennedy's (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) one-out single up the middle. Kennedy advanced to second via a balk before the second out was recorded.
Ben Hixon (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville), who was the hero of Tuesday's upset over Bethel, delivered in the clutch again by dropping a single into the gap in left-center field to score Kennedy and give UNW a 4-3 advantage. The Jackets were able to get runners on second and third with two outs, but
Dreyer Homan (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) forced a groundout to earn the save and close out the dramatic win.
King was terrific in his first Friday start of his career, going 6.0 innings and giving up just two earned runs while striking out five. Homan's save, which featured two strikeouts in his only inning of work, was his third of the season. Bruce and
Alex Klein (Olathe, Kans./Olathe Northwest) each led the Eagles with two hits, while Raya (2 RBI) and Bligh (1 RBI) produced their two extra-base hits. Hixon drove in the other run, which proved to be the game-winner.
Northwestern and Superior will duke it out two more times on Saturday, with more postseason implications on the line. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1:00 PM.
