ST. PAUL, Minn. – After a quick and efficient win to jumpstart the series on Friday, the University of Northwestern Baseball team was gunning for a sweep on Saturday against Martin Luther College. After honoring their eight seniors—
Dreyer Homan (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY),
Derek Lee (Williston, N.D./Williston Trinity Christian),
Michael Borchardt (Rib Lake, Wis./Rib Lake),
Andrew Johnson (Dalton, Minn./Fergus Falls),
Alex Luepke (Mankato, Minn./Mankato West),
Bryce Campbell (New Hope, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong),
Logan Karnowski (Blaine, Minn./Blaine) and
Ben Hixon (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville)--before game one of the doubleheader, the Eagles accomplished their goal, beating the Knights by scores of 6-1 and 12-2 (in seven innings). Two solid pitching performances and a pair of home runs for
Braden Storts (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka) in his return to the diamond were among the highlights as Northwestern kept pace with Bethany Lutheran and UW-Superior atop the UMAC standings with one week to play.
Game One
After 3.5 scoreless innings thanks to some stellar pitching from UNW's
Kason Pietruszewski (Warroad, Minn./Warroad) and Martin Luther's Aidan Berg, the Eagles got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, courtesy of a two-run single off the bat of
Parker Huebsch (Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy). The Eagles loaded the bases in the fifth and had two runners in scoring position in the sixth, but were unable to capitalize in either instance. MLC shrunk the deficit in half with a run in the top of the seventh, but Northwestern was able to answer in the bottom half when
Braden Storts (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka) launched a two-run home run, his first of the season after returning from injury on Friday.
UNW provided Pietruszewski with some insurance in the bottom of the eighth as well, as
Solomon Kardell (Coon Rapids, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) hit a one-out triple to the gap in right-center, and
Alex Klein (Olathe, Kans./Olathe Northwest) brought him home with a double. After advancing to third base on a passed ball, Klein scored on a
Jeremiah Holmes (West Covina, Calif./San Dimas) groundout to make it 6-1 in favor of the hosts. The freshman pitcher finished off the complete game with a scoreless ninth to clinch the series win for the Eagles.
Pietruszewski improves to 4-1 in his rookie campaign with the win after striking out five and giving up just one run in nine innings.
Davis Winter (Wausau, Wis./Wausau East), Kardell and Huebsch each finished with two hits, and the latter drove in a pair of runs. Klein and Holmes each finished with one RBI apiece, and Storts's homer brought in two. Klein (double) and Kardell (triple) tallied Northwestern's other two extra-base hits.
Game Two
It was MLC who struck first in game two with an RBI single in the first inning off of
Caleb Hautajarvi (Barnum, Minn./Barnum Secondary), but the junior settled in well and only allowed one more run the rest of the way. Fortunately for Hautajarvi, his offense immediately picked him up by taking the lead back in the bottom of the first. Winter led things off with a double to center field, and Storts clubbed his second homer of the day to take the lead. Pietruszewski, playing shortstop in game two, doubled to right field, stole third, and scored on a Huebsch sacrifice fly to make it 3-1 after one.
The bats stayed hot into the second inning, as Storts and Pietruszewski each singled home a run with the bases loaded, and Burns added a sac fly to increase the lead to 6-1 through two. UNW tacked on two more runs in the fourth inning when Storts and Burns singled, and Hixon hit a sacrifice fly of his own. The second came off the bat of
Tony Greco (Janesville, Wis./Janesville Craig), who singled through the left side to plate Pietruszewski.
Martin Luther scored its second run on an RBI single after a near-spectacular catch by Winter turned into a triple, but Northwestern once again had a counter at the plate. Winter hit a one-out single in the bottom of the fifth, and back-to-back errors allowed him to score. Consecutive singles from Burns and Hixon made it 11-2, and
Michael Borchardt (Rib Lake, Wis./Rib Lake) increased the lead to 10 with an RBI groundout on his Senior Day. Hautajarvi sent the Knights down 1-2-3 in the sixth inning to conclude his day, and after Homan was allowed to pinch hit (and strikeout) in the bottom of the frame, Luepke held MLC scoreless in the seventh to end the game at 12-2 via the 10-run rule.
There was offense aplenty in game three of the weekend for Northwestern, headlined by Storts's 3-4 day that included a home run and three RBI. Burns and Pietruszewski each recorded two hits and two RBI, wit the latter adding a double. Winter also had two hits, including a double, while Holmes's lone official at-bat resulted in a double as well. Huebsch, Greco and Borchardt each drove in a run, with Hixon producing two RBI. Hautajarvi gave up just five hits and two runs in his six innings, striking out two in the process.
Up Next
The Eagles will begin a busy final week of the regular season with their final home game on Monday at 6:00 PM against Hamline.
