DULUTH, Minn. - Northland College (18-23, 13-8 UMAC) came back from an early 3-0 deficit against Northwestern in the UMAC Tournament opener winning 5-4 in extra innings.

Northwestern opened the game fast with a run in the first via a pair of two-out doubles and another pair of runs in the third to take an early 3-0 lead.

After being held hitless the first time through the lineup the Northland bats came alive in the bottom of the third.  Freshman outfielder Jakob Freele led the inning with a walk with senior outfielder Jacob Hodgdon singling up the middle in the next at bat.  Junior outfielder Mitch Howard moved the runners over with a sacrifice bunt before senior shortstop Matt Lennon drove them both in with a double to center field.  Freshman second baseman Matt Alberino then singled back to the pitcher but a throw that was offline allowed Lennon to score putting the game at a 3-3 tie.

Northwestern had opportunities in the fifth and seventh to retake the lead putting a runner on third in both innings but were turned away by senior pitcher Kyle Strom.

The LumberJacks were then able to take their first lead of the game in the bottom of the seventh.  Freshman third baseman Alex Elliott doubled off the wall to center field to start the inning.  Elliott then moved to third after a ground out to the first baseman from freshman designated hitter Will Serviss.  The Serviss ground out proved to be crucial as during the next at bat Elliott was plated on a wild pitch to give Northland the 4-3 lead.

Northwestern answered in the top of the eighth using a lead off walk to tie the game.  The Eagles once again put a runner on third and had an opportunity to take the lead but Strom was able to shut the door with a pop out and ground out to Lennon at shortstop.

After a pair of quiet ninth innings, the teams headed to extra innings.  Senior pitcher Logan Schuman would come in to pitch the 10th with a clean inning to give Northland a chance to win the game in the bottom half of the inning.

Freele started the bottom of the 10th with a walk and was moved over to second with a sacrifice bunt from Hodgdon.  Howard then lined a ball into center field putting runners on the corners with one out.  The Eagles elected to walk Lennon intentionally bringing senior first baseman Daniel Kollauf to the plate.  The first pitch to Kollauf would hit the first baseman in the heel ending the game with a walk off hit by pitch.

Schuman (7-4) picked up the win on the mound but Strom went the first nine innings scattering 10 hits with a pair of strikeouts.  Strom only allowed four hits after Northwestern took a 3-0 lead in the third inning.

Elliott was the only Northland hitter to record multiple hits going 3-4 with a run scored.  Lennon led the team with two runs batted in, while Freele would go 1-2 with three walks and two runs scored.

Northland advances in the winner's bracket to take on No. 1 seeded St. Scholastica at 3 p.m. tomorrow, Friday, May 8th.  The Jacks could potentially play an elimination game that same day at 6 p.m.  with a loss to St. Scholastica, but a win over the top seeded Saints will put Northland in the championship round set for Saturday, May 9th at noon with a second game at 3 p.m., if necessary.