FORT PIERCE, Fla. – Baseball Hall of Famer Ernie Banks once famously said "let's play two," and that is exactly what the University of Northwestern Baseball team did on Saturday in its second day in Florida. Northwestern had more success than Friday's opening day, defeating 7-3 Kenyon College 4-2 in the AM opener before falling 4-0 to Susquehanna University in the matinee.
Game One: Kenyon College Owls
Game one of Saturday's slate was largely a pitching duel, as it remained scoreless until the sixth inning. The Eagles managed just two hits in the first five frames—a
Jack Burns (Plainfield, Ill./Aurora Christian) double in the first and a single from
Ben Hixon (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville) in the fourth. Kenyon was finally able to break through against freshman pitcher
Kason Pietruszewski (Warroad, Minn./Warroad) in the top of the sixth inning, scoring a pair of runs to break the scoreless tie. The sudden deficit appeared to wake up the UNW bats, as
Christian Raya (Moline, Ill./Moline) clobbered an RBI double to get Northwestern on the board, and
Parker Huebsch (Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy) brough him home with a two-out single to right field. The Eagles took the lead on the next batter when
Bryce Campbell (New Hope, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) hit an RBI double to right, plating
Jeremiah Holmes (West Covina, Calif./San Dimas) to make the score 3-2.
Pietruszewski finished off his solid pitching debut with two strikeouts in the seventh inning, and UNW appeared ready to increase its lead in the bottom of the frame when
Tony Greco (Janesville, Wis./Janesville Craig) hit a one-out double.
Luke O'Rourke (Columbia Heights, Minn./Irondale) relieved Pietruszewski in the eighth and struck out a pair, then got an insurance run from his offense when Hixon doubled to lead off the bottom half and was brought home by a Campbell single down the right field line, making it 4-2. The Owls were able to get the go-ahead run to the plate in the ninth, but O'Rourke shut them down to earn the save.
Campbell went 2-3 with a double and two RBI to lead Northwestern offensively, while Greco matched his stat line, minus the RBI. Burns, Raya and Hixon also clubbed doubles, with the latter adding a single as well. Raya and Huebsch produced the other two UNW RBI, and Pietruszewski earned his first-career win on the hill, striking out seven and surrendering just six hits in seven innings of work.
Game Two: Susquehanna University River Hawks
The afternoon duel began as another low-scoring affair, and unfortunately stayed that way for the Eagles. UNW drew back-to-back walks to open the game, but went down in order after that, stranding both on base. In the bottom of the first inning, Susquehanna loaded the bases against Raya, but the senior flamethrower go out of the jam to keep the game scoreless. The River Hawks were able to break into the score column in the bottom of the third, plating a pair of runs with two outs. The following inning, Northwestern got two runners into scoring position, but a strikeout ended the threat. Those proved to be two runs the Eagles needed, as Susquehanna scored two more of its own in the bottom of the frame on a single to left field.
Davis Winter (Wausau, Wis./Wausau East) moved from second base to pitcher for the final four innings and shut the River Hawks out, but UNW was only able to muster one hit the rest of the way—a Greco single in the eighth. The 4-0 loss dropped the Eagles to 1-3 on the new season.
Raya took the loss on the mound, giving up two earned runs and seven hits in five innings, while striking out five. Winter struck out two in his three innings and held the River Hawks scoreless. At the plate, Greco, Huebsch and Hixon provided the only hits of the game for Northwestern, with the latter's being a double.
Up Next
The Eagles will have Sunday off before returning to action Monday morning in Fort Pierce, taking on Lasell at 9:00 AM CT.
