ST. PAUL, Minn. – The two games that made up Monday's baseball doubleheader between the University of Northwestern and Crown College could not have looked any different, aside from the winner. Playing as the visiting team on the scoreboard since the game was relocated from Crown's home field, the Eagles cruised to a 9-1 win in the opening game before needing a three-run ninth inning to take game two by an 8-7 score.
Game One
As has been the case more often than not this season, the Eagles looked sharp with
Dreyer Homan (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) on the bump. Even before the senior took the mound, he already had a two-run cushion to work with, as a
Tony Greco (Janesville, Wis./Janesville Craig) double in the top of the first inning scored
Ben Hixon (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville) and
Davis Winter (Wausau, Wis./Wausau East), who singled to lead off the game. After Homan sent the Polars down 1-2-3 in the bottom half, UNW added another pair of runs in the second. Singles by
AJ Kazel (Esko, Minn./Esko),
Alex Klein (Olathe, Kans./Olathe Northwest) and Winter loaded the bases, and another single from
Kason Pietruszewski (Warroad, Minn./Warroad) plated Kazel. Klein came around to score on a fielder's choice to make it 4-0 after 1.5 innings.
Homan continued to pitch a gem, ultimately going eight shutout innings, striking out six, and scattering just five hits. Northwestern doubled its total in the top of the fourth; with two on and two out, Hixon singled to fill the bases once again. Greco drew a walk to bring one run in, and
Parker Huebsch (Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy) cleared the bases with a three-run triple to break the game open and give the Eagles an 8-0 lead.
Despite getting runners into scoring position in the fifth and sixth innings, UNW would not score again until the top of the seventh, when Winter singled Klein home, who had led off the frame with a single himself. After Homan's exit after the eighth inning,
Izeyah Rojas (Covina, Calif./Walnut) came in and finished the game, surrendering just one run as Crown's bats finally started to get going, resulting in a 9-1 win.
Winter led the way with a 3-4 game at the plate with an RBI, while Hixon, Kazel and Klein each tallied a pair of hits. Greco and Huebsch each drove in three runs with two and one hits, respectively, while Pietruszewski and Burns also logged an RBI apiece. Hixon and Greco each doubled, and Huebsch recorded his first-career triple. Homan got the win on the mound to improve to 2-0 this season.
Game Two
After a scoreless first inning, Northwestern once again was the first to strike, in the top of the second.
Bryce Campbell (New Hope, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) kicked off the scoring with an RBI single, and a hit-by-pitch drawn by Hixon with the bases loaded made it 2-0. That was followed by an RBI single from Greco and a bases-loaded walk drawn by Huebsch, giving the Eagles a 4-0 advantage. Crown was able to tie the game with a four-spot of its own in the bottom of the fifth, but UNW retook the lead in the top of the seventh when
Jack Burns (Plainfield, Ill./Aurora Christian) was hit by a pitch with the bases full.
The Polars were able to take their first lead of the series in the bottom of the eighth, scoring three runs to take a 7-5 edge. Back against the wall in its last at-bat, Northwestern was able to storm back to regain the lead, and it didn't even require a single hit. Three hit batters, two walks, two wild pitches and a balk later, the Eagles were up 8-7, needing to record just three more outs to steal game two and clinch the series win.
Caleb Hautajarvi (Barnum, Minn./Barnum Secondary) did just that, forcing three groundouts to end the game.
Winter and Huebsch each tallied a pair of hits, with the latter adding an RBI. Burns, Hixon, Greco, Kazel, Campbell,
Jeremiah Holmes (West Covina, Calif./San Dimas) and
Solomon Kardell (Coon Rapids, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) all recorded an RBI as well. Hautajarvi earned the win on the mound.
Up Next
UNW and Crown will play once more, at 3:00 PM on Tuesday at Reynolds Field.
