MANKATO, Minn. - For the second day in a row, the University of Northwestern Baseball team came up short in a high-scoring affair in the 2026 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament. This time, it was 12-9 in an elimination game at the hands of the University of Minnesota Morris, ending UNW's season earlier than it had hoped with a 19-22 record.
Morris powered its way to an early 4-0 lead with a single and a three-run home run in consecutive at-bats in the top of the second inning. Northwestern answered in the very next inning when
Tony Greco (Janesville, Wis./Janesville Craig) hit an RBI double to left field, and
Jeremiah Holmes (West Covina, Calif./San Dimas) smacked a two-run single through the left side to pull the Eagles within a run at 4-3. Unfortunately for UNW, it was unable to sustain the momentum into the field, as the Cougars tacked on four more runs in the top of the third to extend their lead to 9-3. After another UMM homer in the fourth,
Kason Pietruszewski (Warroad, Minn./Warroad) was pulled in favor of
Davis Winter (Wausau, Wis./Wausau East).
Needing a sizable comeback, Northwestern began to chip away in the bottom of the fourth when Holmes added another RBI with a single to right field. Minnesota Morris countered with a pair of runs in the fifth to take its largest lead of the day at 12-4, but the Eagles' offense had something left in the tank, with Holmes once again bringing home a run, this time via a fielder's choice in the sixth.
UNW added another run in the bottom of the seventh inning when
AJ Kazel (Esko, Minn./Esko) hit an RBI single to score Pietruszewski, who led off the frame with a double, making it 12-6.
Christian Raya (Moline, Ill./Moline) pitched well in relief to give Northwestern's bats a chance to mount a big comeback, and they nearly did so. After a pair of singles loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the eighth,
Braden Storts (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka) clubbed a double to left-center field to pull the Eagles within four. A
Jack Burns (Plainfield, Ill./Aurora Christian) groundout brought another run home to make it 12-9, and two-consecutive walks filled the bases with two outs. Head Coach
Jesse Eikum chose to pinch-hit
Parker Huebsch (Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy), who has plenty of extra-base ability, but the sophomore struck out to end the threat. After another clean inning on the mound from Raya, UNW went down 1-2-3 in the ninth to conclude its season with a 12-9 loss.
Pietruszewski and Holmes each recorded three hits, with the latter adding a career-high four RBI and the former a double. Greco (who doubled) and Kazel each tallied two hits and an RBI, while Storts finished with two RBI and a double, and Burns one RBI. Pietruszewski took the loss on the mound to finish his freshman season 5-2. Raya threw three shutout innings in relief with two strikeouts. Northwestern says goodbye to eight seniors who made a strong impact on the program:
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).
