FORT PIERCE, Fla. – The University of Northwestern Baseball team was able to sleep a little later than its previous Florida game days on Tuesday before squaring off with Washington College (MD) at 1:00 PM local time. The rest clearly benefited the bats on both sides, as 29 total runs were scored on 24 hits. Unfortunately, the Eagles also committed five errors and gave up a grand slam in the 10
th inning to fall to 1-5 on the season with a 17-12 loss.
UNW drew first blood in the bottom of the first inning when
Jack Burns (Plainfield, Ill./Aurora Christian) hit a bases-loaded single to score
Tony Greco (Janesville, Wis./Janesville Craig). The other two runners were held up, and the bases were left full when a strikeout ended the inning. Washington answered back with a run of its own in the top of the second, and the score remained 1-1 until the top of the fourth, when the Shoremen capitalized on a series of walks, hit batters and errors to plate six runs and open up a 7-1 lead.
Northwestern put together a two-out rally in the fifth inning, started by a
Ben Hixon (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville) single to center field. Burns tripled him home, then scored on an
Alex Klein (Olathe, Kans./Olathe Northwest) single. Klein wound up coming around to score on a wild pitch to trim the deficit to 7-4. WashColl again answered in the very next frame with two more runs to extend its lead to 9-4, but the Eagles were ready to counter.
After
Parker Huebsch (Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy) loaded the bases with a single,
Christian Raya (Moline, Ill./Moline) drew an RBI walk and Greco scored on a wild pitch. UNW again did more damage with two outs, with Huebsch scoring on another wild pitch and
Caleb Hautajarvi (Barnum, Minn./Barnum Secondary) plating Raya with a pinch-hit, RBI single. Another run came home when
Davis Winter (Wausau, Wis./Wausau East) was plunked with the bases loaded, tying the game at nine-apiece heading into the seventh inning.
The Shoremen again were able to immediately respond, using a double, two singles and a costly error on a fielder's choice to tack on three more runs and take a 12-9 lead. But like any prize fighter would, Northwestern once again punched back. Huebsch led off the bottom of the seventh with a single, and came around to score with Raya when Klein delivered another clutch single. Washington then unsuccessfully tried to pick Klein off at first with Burns standing at third, and the errant throw allowed the freshman to score to tied the game at 12. The Eagles were able to load the bases with two outs, but a pop-out ended the threat.
The action slowed down a bit in the later innings, although UNW was able to get a runner into scoring position in the bottom of the ninth, to no avail. In the top of the 10
th, the Shoremen broke the game open, hitting a grand slam and an RBI double to take a 17-12 lead that proved to be insurmountable, ending a shootout for the ages.
The offense was humming, as Northwestern recorded 11 hits as a team, and five players recorded multiple. Burns hit the lone extra-base hit, a triple, and finished with a pair of RBI, while Klein brought three home via his two hits. Winter went 2-2 with an RBI (and was hit by four pitches), Raya 2-5 with an RBI, and Hautajarvi plated one in his only at-bat. Huebsch also logged a pair of hits and scored twice.
Luke O'Rourke (Columbia Heights, Minn./Irondale) was credited with the loss, while
Grant Lindholm (Ham Lake, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) and
Solomon Kardell (Coon Rapids, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) combined to strike out seven in seven innings.
UNW will have Wednesday off after a marathon of a Tuesday outing, and will take on Marywood University at 12:30 PM CT on Thursday.
