ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Northland College Baseball team fell in two high-scoring games 10-18 and 12-13 to the University of Northwestern in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference action Saturday evening in St. Paul, Minn.
The Eagle took the lead early, scoring four runs in the first, then adding three more in the second.
The LumberJacks started to find a rhythm in the third. With two outs and one runner on,
Jonjay Arreazola doubled to score
Mychal Castillo for the team's first run.
Nathan Davison would reach from an error, and that error would score Arreazola.
Caden Willis would single to load the bases for
Vinny Cooney. Cooney added two more runs after he singled to center field. Before the inning was up, the Jack would add one more run with an RBI single from
Tyler Murphy. In the bottom half, Northwestern would get three runs back.
In the top of the fourth, Northland looked to answer back but left two stranded. In the bottom half of the inning,
Kazdion Mount tossed a scoreless inning to keep the deficit at five. The following inning, UNW tacked on five more runs.
In the seventh, with the bases loaded,
Gabe Villa came to the plate and scored Willis after grounding out to the shortstop.
Ridge Guyette followed up with a three-run home run to cut the lead to six. The late rally was not enough, as they would fall 18-10 in game one.
The Eagles out-hit the Jacks 20-18. Guyette led Northland with four hits and three RBIs. Arreazola, Willis, and Cooney all had three and Davison chipped in two.
Peyton Solberg, Murphy and Villa also added to the hit total.
On the mound,
Andrew Birko got the start and pitched 2.1 innings with two strikeouts and six earned runs. Mount followed and pitched into the fifth.
Grant McCurry followed and got out of the inning and did not give up an earned run.
Josh Wooden and
Grant Vessey pitched the final three innings for the Jacks.
Willis drew a leadoff walk to start the second. Vessey singled, and that put runners on the corners for Murphy. The junior singled to get the Jacks on the board first in game two. With two outs, Arreazola lifted the ball to right field, and that scored Vessey from second base. Guyette lined a ball don the left field line scoring the team's third run of the inning.
Nolan Hemmesch came up with the bases loaded, and on the first pitch he saw, he found an open slot to drive in two more runs. Willis added the final runs on the board with a single that put Northland up 7-0 after the top of the second.
The Eagles started to close the gap and after the sixth they cut the lead to one. In the seventh, Northland started to rebuilt its advantage. Hits from Solberg and Cooney and a walk from Willis loaded the bases with one out. An error and fielder's choice added two more runs for the Jacks and
Jay Harris capped off the scoring with a three-run home run.
Northwestern had two home runs in the eighth to and two doubles pulled within one. An error leveled the game at 12. A sac fly would win the game for the Eagles in the ninth.
Northland totaled 10 hits with Guyette leading with two. Cooney, Vessey, and Murphy each scored two runs and Harris led the team with three RBIs. On the mound,
Ethan Boyce pitched the first inning. Cooney followed and tossed three innings with three strikeouts. Solberg threw 3.2 and had three Ks. Vessey and Murphy each recorded one out.
The LumberJacks have a nonconference doubleheader on Wednesday with the College St. Scholastica starting at 5 p.m.
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 and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
