MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.-- North Central University Baseball has won four in a row and five of their last six games following a double header sweep of Crown College on the road on Monday evening. The Rams offense exploded for 31 runs off of 39 hits in the two victories over the Storm.

GAME ONE
North Central came into Monday's double header having swept Carleton College (Northfield, Minn.) last Thursday and looked to continue their first win streak of the season. The Rams bats came alive in support of junior pitcher Matt Huberty (Detroit Lakes, Minn.) to control the Storm on the way to a 12-3 victory over Crown College (St. Bonifacius, Minn.).

The Rams led just 2-1 going into the top of the fifth inning before pulling away for a decisive win. Senior short stop Joe Robinson (Glbert, Ariz.) got fifth inning rally started with a lead off single, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. Sophomore third baseman Isaac Gross then opened up what would be a seven 7 RBI night with a run scoring ground out to the short stop. Sophomore designated hitter Ian Andrews (Coon Rapids, Minn.) followed up with a single and moved to third when freshman catcher Gary Ramos (Chicago, Ill.) began his two-game assault on Crown pitching with the first of his three double hits on the night. Junior first baseman Jon Tolbert (Detroit Lakes, Minn.) then scored Andrews with an RBI single that also moved Ramos to third. Junior left fielder Matt Farland (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) then reached on an RBI fielders choice to wrap up the Rams three run fifth and give NCU a 5-1 lead.

Crown went quietly in their part of the fifth and NCU pulled away for good with a five run top of the sixth. Junior center fielder Ben Freitag (Lakeville, Minn.) continued his hot streak at the top of the order with a one out double to center field to kick start the at bat for NCU. Joe Robinson then moved Freitag to third with an infield single. Then Ian Andrews singled down the left field line with two outs to score both Robinson and Freitag. Gary Ramos then singled to right and Jon Tolbert reached on a walk to load the bases. Matt Farland, sophomore second baseman Ricardo Cardenas (), and senior right fielder Jay Beichley each drew walks that drove in three Rams runs and put NCU ahead 10-1.

NCU kept Crown off the board in the bottom of the sixth and went back to work in their final at bat. Joe Robinson and Isaac Gross led off with walks, Following a fly out, Gary Ramos then singled to center to load the bases for Jon Tolbert. Tolbert fired a single to left center to score both Gross and Robinson and move Ramos to third but that would be all NCU could get across.

With the Rams leading 12-1 in the bottom of the seventh Crown added 2 runs but North Central would come away with the final 12-3 victory over the Storm.

Matt Huberty earned his second pitching win of the year going the full seven innings allowing just three earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts.

Jon Tolbert was 2-4 with 3 RBI and a walk. Joe Robinson reached in all five plate appearances including going 3-3 with 2 walks and 4 runs scored. Isaac Gross was 1-3 with a double and 2 RBI. Gary Ramos went 3-5 with a double and 2 runs scored. Matt Farland was 2-3 with a triple and 2 RBI. Ian Andrews was 2-4 with 2 RBI.

GAME TWO
With their third straight win in the books NCU came into the night cap looking for their second consecutive double header sweep and jumped on Crown early and often to build 15-2 lead after four innings.

NCU tallied four runs in the opening at bat of the game. Ben Freitag started things off with a single to right field and advanced to second on a passed ball. Joe Robinson followed up with a walk and Isaac Gross smacked an RBI single that scored Freitag. Robinson tried to score on the single from Gross who advanced to second when Robinson was thrown out at home. Ian Andrews then singled the next at bat to score Gross from second. Gary Ramos then followed that up with the first home run of his college career to complete the Rams scoring in first.

Crown went down in order in the first and NCU added three more in the second. Joe Robinson drew a two out walk and stole second. Isaac Gross then hit another single and advanced to second when Joe Robinson was safe on a throw to home plate. Ian Andrews then scored Gross with an RBI double to right center. Gary Ramos then singled to give NCU runners at the corners with two down. Jon Tolbert then knocked in Ramos with an RBI single to wrap up the Rams second inning rally.

Crown got one run back in the second inning but the Rams added another run of their own in the top of the third to give NCU an 8-1 lead after just three fulling innings.

The Rams then put things out of reach for good by tallying seven runs in the top of the fourth. Ramos got the Rams salvo going with a lead off double followed by a single from Jon Tolbert. With runners at the corners Matt Farland hit a single that scored Ramos and moved Tolbert to second. Ricardo Cardenas then singled to right field to load the bases for Matt Huberty who blasted a grand slam home run. Isaac Gross had an RBI single and Gary Ramos recorded a sacrifice fly ball that drove in another run for NCU. Crown came back with a single run in their fourth inning at bat but NCU retained a 15-2 lead.

NCU recorded their only scoreless inning of the game and Crown got one run in the fifth inning to put the score at 15-3.

North Central would add two more in the top of the sixth. Isaac Gross led off with a walk and Gary Ramos then hit a double, his second of the game, to right center and scored Gross all the way from first base. Matt Farland then singled to right field with Ramos advancing to third and scoring on a throwing error by the right fielder to give NCU a 17-3 lead through six full innings.

The Rams added two more in the seventh with Freitag singling to start the inning and Robinson following up with a double to left field. Isaac Gross then hit a sac fly to right field scoring Freitag and moving Robinson to third. Junior Devin Lehnhoff (Ellendale, N.D.) a usual starting pitcher and rarely used hitter then recorded his first collegiate hit with an RBI single down the left field line that scored Robinson and gave NCU a 19-3 lead.

Crown would tally five runs in their final at bat but the Rams had built the cushion they needed for a 19-8 victory.

Jon Tolbert earned the win on the mound going six innings giving up three earned runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and no walks. He was also 2-6 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored. Isaac Gross was 3-4 with 5 RBI, 4 runs scored, and walk. Gross was 4-7 with a double, 3 walks, and 7 RBI in the two NCU victories.

Gary Ramos was 4-5 in the game with 4 RBI and 3 runs scored. On the day Ramos was 7-10 with a home run, 3 doubles, and 4 RBI.

Matt Huberty was 2-5 with a grand slam and 2 runs scored. Matt Farland was 3-5 with 1 RBI and a run scored. Ian Andrews was 2-4 with 2 RBI and Ben Freitag continued to be an excellent lead off batter going 5-6 with 3 runs scored.

North Central returns to action today with a single nine inning game at Bethel University (Arden Hills, Minn.) at 3:30 pm. The Royals swept the Rams in a double header at the Metrodome on February 27 by 4-1 and 2-0 margins.