NEW ULM, Minn. – The Northland College Baseball team splits with Martin Luther College, dropping game one 5-0, then winning 12-7 in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference action Saturday in New Ulm, Minn. The LumberJacks' final game will forever be a win.
Head Coach
Cal Fougner had this to say about the series and the win. "I think the final win and the series are just proof of how much our guys cared about each other and refused to give up throughout the year. We're extremely proud of each and every one of our guys, and they should be proud to be the last team to wear a LumberJack uniform."
Unlike in game one of the series, Northland was unable to string together hits, which resulted in the team trailing 5-0 entering the eighth inning.
Mychal Castillo led off the inning with a single, and two batters later,
Ridge Guyette drew a walk. This was the first time in the game that the LumberJacks had two batters on in the same inning. Northland was unable to get on the board as they left both runners on.
In the ninth,
Nathan Davison reached first with a lead-off single, and a pitch hit
Caden Willis to put two on with no outs. An error would load the bases for NC as it was down to its final two outs. The following two batters would go down in order for the Knights to take game one 5-0.
Northland totaled seven hits, with Davison having the only multiple-hit game for the Jacks.
Tyler Murphy,
Peyton Solberg,
Vinny Cooney, Willis, and Castillo all had one hit in the contest. All hits were singles. Defensively, the Jacks turned one double play, and Castillo caught one runner stealing.
Ethan Boyce started the game on the mound for NC. Boyce finished with four earned runs and had a one-two-three first inning.
Anthony Boyle would enter in the fifth inning and go three innings, striking out two batters while not allowing a run.
Grant McCurry pitched the final inning, not giving up a run.
In the second inning, Davison hit a leadoff single for Northland's first hit of game two. Willis followed him with a two-run shot over the wall to give the Jacks the early lead. Cooney and
Grant Vessey each reached base.
Jay Harris would lay down a bunt to move both of the runners to scoring position. Singles from
Jonjay Arreazola and Guyette increased the lead to four.
Over the next two innings, MLC would cut the lead to 4-3.
In the fifth, the LumberJacks would string together three straight hits to bring in another run. Murphy, Davison, and Willis would all single to put NC up by two.
In the sixth, Cooney started with a leadoff walk, followed by a single from Vessey. Another single from Arreazola scored Cooney. Guyette followed by drawing a one-out walk, loading the bases.
Dezmon LeTexier would reach and score a run on a fielder's choice, and before the inning was up, Murphy singled to make the score 8-3 after the top of the frame.
Northland loaded the bases in the eighth before recording an out. LeTexier hit a bloop single to right field to bring in a run. Murphy followed with a sac fly to bring NC to double figures. Davison would double down the right field line, pushing another run home. A fielder's choice would bring in the final run of the inning.
The Knights would start to rally in the bottom of the ninth, scoring four runs with two outs. Solberg would record the final out, pitching a complete game for Northland to win 12-7.
In the final game, the LumberJacks scored 12 runs on 12 hits, with Davison leading the way with three. Murphy and Arreazola totaled two, and Guyette, LeTexier, Willis, Cooney, and Vessey each had a knock. Willis went deep for the fourth time this season and led the team with three RBIs. Davison scored the most runs at three. Solberg pitched his first collegiate nine-inning complete game to earn his first win of the season.
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.
