ST. PAUL. Minn. - With both teams sporting two conference losses in a tight UMAC race, many eyes are on this weekend's University of Northwestern vs. University of Minnesota Morris Baseball series. In Friday's series opener at Reynolds Field, the pitching was the story, as just three runs were scored. Ultimately,
Caleb Hautajarvi's (Barnum, Minn./Barnum Secondary) complete game was the difference as the Eagles edged out the Cougars, 2-1.
Morris drew first blood with a solo home run in the top of the third inning, but would not be able to muster another run as Hautajarvi struck out six and scattered just seven hits. UNW got on the board in the bottom of the fifth when
Bryce Campbell (New Hope, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) and
Davis Winter (Wausau, Wis./Wausau East) hit consecutive singles, and came around to score on a
Jack Burns (Plainfield, Ill./Aurora Christian) one-bagger. Northwestern would get a few more runners on base throughout the rest of the game, but UMM was unable to, resulting in a 2-1 win for the Eagles that puts them alone atop the UMAC at 8-2.
Although only four Eagles recorded hits in the game, they made the most of their opportunities. Campbell went 3-3 at the dish, while Burns and
AJ Kazel (Esko, Minn./Esko) each added two hits and Winter one. All nine Northwestern hits were singles. Hautajarvi earned the win on the mound to improve to 3-1 on the season.
UNW and Minnesota Morris will play a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 10:00 AM to close out the series.
