ST. PAUL, Minn. - Playing for the second-straight day against a MIAC opponent, the University of Northwestern Baseball team unfortunately suffered a similar result to Tuesday's 13-4 loss to Bethel University. Facing Macalester College this time, only eight innings were necessary as the Scots took care of the Eagles 11-1.
Northwestern got singles in each of the first three innings--from
Davis Winter (Wausau, Wis./Wausau East),
Caleb Hautajarvi (Barnum, Minn./Barnum Secondary),
Mark Albright (Roberts, Wis./St. Croix Central) and
Jeremiah Holmes (West Covina, Calif./San Dimas)--but was unable to produce any runs. UNW did come close in the second inning when Hautajarvi was waved home on Albright's hit, but he was thrown out at the plate to end the frame. Macalester broke the scoreless tie with three runs in the top of the fourth inning, and added four more in the fifth to take a commanding, 7-0 lead. The Eagles went down 1-2-3 in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, and the Scots tacked on three more in the seventh to extend their lead to 10-0.
Northwestern found a little life in the bottom of the seventh, as
Ben Hixon (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville),
AJ Kazel (Esko, Minn./Esko) and Hautajarvi loaded the bases with consecutive singles to begin the inning. Hixon scored on a wild pitch to extend the game at least one more inning, and a walk filled the bases once again with nobody out; but a strikeout and a double play squashed the threat and kept UNW down by nine. MAC scored one more time in the top of the eighth inning to stretch the lead back to 10 at 11-1, and this time, the Eagles were unable to match it despite getting two runners into scoring position. The game ended at 11-1 in the eighth via the run rule.
Hautajarvi was the lone Eagle to record multiple hits, going 2-3 after getting the start at third base. Winter,
Jack Burns (Plainfield, Ill./Aurora Christian), Kazel and Holmes each started and logged one hit apiece, while Hixon went 1-1 after pinch-hitting and reached base twice.
Grant Lindholm (Ham Lake, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) took the loss on the mound.
UNW will be back at Reynolds Field this weekend for a three-game conference series with UW-Superior, beginning with a Saturday doubleheader scheduled for 2:00 PM.
