The Red Raider baseball team concluded its Spring Break Trip with a double header sweep against Bethany Lutheran (Minn.) 5-4 (8 innings) and 9-7 played today in Tucson, Ariz.
Northwestern pushed its win streak to five games and improved to 10-8 on the season. Head Coach
Brian Wede's squad went 7-3 in Tucson.
Game One: 5-4 (8 innings) win
Tied 2-2 and heading into extra innings, Northwestern scored three runs in the top of the eighth.
Drew Schutt reached base on a Bethany Lutheran error and went to second following a single by
Kip Cullinan. Consecutive singles from
Noa Vogel and Isaac Thrum led to the first run, scoring Schutt. Still with the bases loaded,
Grant Christy was hit-by-pitch, bringing home another run.
Jaden Snyder drove in the third and final run with a sacrifice fly.
Bethany Lutheran made the Red Raiders nervous in the bottom of the eighth, scoring two runs and had the tying run at second until
Shane Geurink retired Kaylan Legend on a groundout to end it.
Evan Olesen pitched well for Coach Wede's squad but did not factor in the decision. The sophomore allowed just two hits, one earned run and struck out six in 5.1 innings.
Ryan Reynolds (1-2) pitched a perfect 1.1 innings, striking out three of the four batters he faced, to earn the win and Geurink picked up the save.
Northwestern mustered nine hits off Vikings pitchers, led by
Colton Harold, Schutt and Vogel with two hits each.
Logan Nissen took the loss for Bethany Lutheran, giving up four hits, three runs, in the final three innings. Five different Vikings players had one hit each.
Game Two: 9-7 win
Northwestern rallied from an early six-run deficit to come and defeat Bethany Lutheran 9-7.
Down 7-1, Coach Wede's squad scored two run in the bottom of the second, one in the fifth and went ahead for good with a five-run sixth inning. Vogel and Olesen hit back-to-back doubles with one out in the sixth, leading to the first run. Thurm walked and came around to score, along with Olesen, on a triple by Snyder to tie the score at seven.
Sutton Derr drove in Snyder and came around to plate the final run on a groundout by Schutt.
Brett Shelton (W: 1-3) pitched two scoreless innings to get the win, striking out four. The Red Raider bullpen combined to pitch 5.1 scoreless innings. Geurink earned another save.
Northwestern had nine hits in game two, led by Snyder who went 2/2 with two runs and three RBI.
Colton Harold added two hits and Schutt drove in three.
Josh Fakkema hit a solo home run.
Bethany Lutheran scored all seven runs in the second inning. Tommy Gannon hit a two-run single and the Vikings took advantage of three Red Raider errors. Zach Diaz was the top Vikings' hitter, going 2/3.
R.J. Brothen took the loss, giving up two hits and five runs.
