Davenport, Fla. - The third day of competition for the Raiders over spring break showed strong batting once again earning two victories 9-3 over Aquinas and 12-7 over Cornerstone.

Game 1: NWC 9 - Aquinas 3

Pitching Decisions

Win: Aiden Sieperda (1-1)

Loss: E. Bowen (0-1)

The Red Raiders started strong in the first inning with a single and ground out driving in two runs, giving the Raiders a 2-0 lead. The Saints were unable to score in their half of the inning. In the third inning, Northwestern extended their lead with a Devin Dirkx solo home run but Aquinas responded with a run of their own, closing the gap to 3-1. The Raiders continued to maintain their advantage in the fifth inning. Grant Guidry hit a double to bring a run home, pushing the lead to 5-2 but once again the Saints respond, making the score 5-3. In the eighth inning, two walks were brought home by a Grant Rychnovsky's double, increasing the score to 9-2. The Raiders added one more run in the ninth, as did the Saints, resulting in a final score of 10-3 in favor of Northwestern.

Game Notes

• Grant Rychnovsky dominated offensively with three hits, two RBIs, two runs, and a stolen base
• Five Raiders notched two or more hits
• Second most hits in a game this season (13)

Game 2: NWC 12 - Cornerstone 7

Pitching Decisions

Win: Colton Korver (1-0)

Loss: R. McArthur (0-2)

Save: Brody Ayers (2)

Northwestern opened the game with a strong offensive performance, scoring three runs in the first inning.  Grant Guidry's double brought in two runs before a single drove in another run to put the Red Raiders ahead 3-1. In the second inning, Luke Wroblewski continued to be effective on the bases, scoring on a wild pitch after reaching on a single and stealing second. This run extended the lead to 4-1, but the Raiders left two runners stranded.

The seventh inning was pivotal for the Raiders as they added three more runs. Two singles put runners on for consecutive doubles from TJ Silliman and Tyler Schroeder, capitalizing on a Golden Eagles error to increase the lead to 8-3. In the eighth inning, the Raiders secured their lead with a four-run burst. Dalton Garbers hits a triple to bring in two runs and Northwestern took advantage of multiple errors by the Golden Eagles to extend their lead to 12-7, which proved to be insurmountable as Cornerstone was unable to respond in the final inning.

Game Notes

• Five Raiders finish with at least two hits and one run scored
• It's back to back games with 13 hits and eight RBIs
• The mound rotation for Northwestern averaged 1.67 innings pitched

Up Next: Northwestern gets a day off before returning to action with a double header against Trinity Baptist on Saturday, March 8th starting at 11:15 AM.

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