Blake Richard
2
Northwestern UNW 10-15, 7-4 UMAC
3
Winner Northland College NC 5-14, 2-7 UMAC
Northwestern UNW
10-15, 7-4 UMAC
2
Final
3
Northland College NC
5-14, 2-7 UMAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Northwestern UNW 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 4 2
Northland College NC 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 3 10 2

W: Solberg, Peyton (1-0) L: Caleb Hautajarvi (1-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Jacks walk off Eagles in 10 innings in home opener

Ross drives in the winning run with a blast to center field

ASHLAND, Wis. – In its home opener the Northland College Baseball team walks off the University of Northwestern 3-2 in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play Friday afternoon in Ashland, Wis. Senior Zach Ross drove home the winning run with a shot to center field.
 
Northland improved to 5-14 on the season and 2-7 in the UMAC and Northwestern fell to 10-15 and 7-4 in the conference. This is the LumberJacks' first home win since May 11, 2022.
 
Andrew Birko started on the mound for Northland. The junior only had one base runner on in the first by a hit pitch. In the Jacks' first inning, senior Vinny Troccoli continued his tear with a single up the gut but was left stranded.
 
The following innings were pitching duels with Birko tossing a one-two-three second third and fourth.
 
The Eagles took the lead in the fifth after scoring off an error on a fielder's choice. It did not take long for Northland to respond. In the bottom half of the inning, Tyler Murphy leveled the game with a sacrifice fly to foul territory scoring Hunter Wicklund.
 
Kazdion Mount came to the plate with runners on the corners in the sixth and put Northland on top, scoring Matt Simpson as he grounded out the third. Birko continued to make work of the Eagle seeing six batters in the sixth and seventh innings.
 
UNW knotted the game up in the eighth after an RBI single to left field. Peyton Solberg was called upon in the eighth with the bases load and two outs. The Junior got out of the jam with a fly out to left field.
 
The game was still tied at the end of the ninth to force extra innings. The Eagles started the extra with two early outs before a single up the middle. Solberg ended the inning striking out the batter looking.
 
Tyler Murphy drew a walk as the lead-off man. A fielder's choice and error put the runners on the corners. Luke Maxwell hit into another fielder's choice that got the lead runner. Simpson loaded the bases with a single for Ross. Ross battled in the count and eventually drove the ball to center field where it fell for a hit and the win for the Jacks.
 
Northland outhit Northwestern 10-to-4. Leading the way for the LumberJacks was Ross with three hits. Simpson and Wicklund also had multiple-hit games, with Simpson having the sole extra-base hit in the game with a double. On the base path, Dezmon LeTexier and Wicklund both stole a base.
 
Briko went a season-high 7.2 innings in the game. The junior fanned one batter, gave up three hits, and gave up one earned run. Solberg earned his first win of the season and has improved to 2-0 all-time against the Eagles.
 
The Jacks and Eagles end the series tomorrow (Saturday) with a doubleheader starting at noon.
 
Northland College is an NCAA Division III institution located in Ashland, WI. The LumberJacks and LumberJills sponsor 14 varsity sports and compete in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, Midwest Lacrosse Conference, and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.