ARLINGTON, Texas.-- North Central University got their baseball season underway on Friday despite an ironic twist that delayed the first pitch of their 2015 slate. The Rams earned a split over four games on Friday and Saturday after snow shower pushed back their originally scheduled opener that had been slated for Thursday.

North Central (2-2, 0-0 UMAC) had been slated to start their 2015 season with a double-header versus Arlington Baptist College (Arlington, Texas) on Thursday, March 5. However, a snow shower moved through the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area on Wednesday night and put down a few inches of snow that pushed back the spring break schedule for the Rams. Originally scheduled to play ABC on Thursday and Manhattan Christian College (Manhattan, Kansas) on Saturday, the schedule had to be changed up an the teams each played split double-header on Friday and Saturday.

Friday, the Rams were able to take the field at QuikTrip Park for a split double-header against ABC and MCC. QuikTrip Park is home of the Grand Prairie AirHogs of the American Association of Professional Baseball and is an outstanding venue for college and professional baseball.

FRIDAY GAME ONE: ABC 19, NCU 3

Arlington was the game one opponent and the Patriots came into the double-header having already played 16 contests. ABC used that momentum to jump on the Rams early and often on the way to a 19-3 victory. The Patriots scored two in the first inning before posting four more in the second and tossing up a seven-spot in the third to lead 13-0. North Central got their runs in the fourth and fifth to get within 13-3 but the Patriots posted 6 more in the bottom of the sixth to take a 7 inning victory over the Rams.

FRIDAY GAME TWO: NCU 21, MCC 5

Game two on Friday saw the Rams jump out early and cruise to a 21-5 victory over Manhattan Christian. North Central held the Thunder off the score board in the top of the first before posting four runs in their first at-bat. The first two batters walked for the Rams and then junior Cody Van Sickle (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) posted an in-field hit that loaded the bases with no outs. Sophomore David Babcock (Fresno, Calif./Buchanan) also reached via a walk and earned an RBI for his plate appearance. Sophomore Taylor Madrinich (West Bend, Wis./West Bend) then smacked a single to right field that scored a pair of runs and moved Babcock to third. With two outs, junior Eli Odle (Green Mountain, Iowa/BCLUW) then singled through the right side to score Babcock and complete the scoring rally.

The Thunder were retired in the second and the Rams added another run in their part of the frame. Freshman Jordan Fair (Boyne City, Mich./Boyne City) reached for the second time in the game on a walk and then stole second. With one out Cody Van Sickle reached for the second time in the game on an error that also scored Fair and made it 5-0 through two innings.

Both teams were scoreless in the third and Manhattan stranded a runner before the Rams blew the game wide in bottom of the fourth inning. David Babcock was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and advanced to third when Taylor Madrinich reached on an error. Freshman Michael Cardinalli (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill) walked and moved up Madrinich to second. A wild pitch scored Babcock and a single from sophomore Matthew Juve (Blaine, Minn./Spring Lake Park) loaded the bases. Eli Odle reached on an error that drove in Madrinich and kept the bases loaded. Sophomore Sidney Grimmett (Beebe, Ark./Beebe) also reached on an error that drove in both Juve and Cardinalli and left Odle at third. Jordan Fair then walked for the third time in the game to reload the bases. Sophomore Caleb Wyre (Scottsbluff, Neb./Gering) then flied out to center but Grimmett tagged up to score and Odle scored on a throwing error that moved Fair all the way to third. Van Sickle then drove in Fair with a flyout to right field. David Babcock then reached for the second time in the inning with a double to left field. Taylor Madrinich then kept the rally alive when he reached on an error and moved up on a throw that was late as Babcock scored from second. Cardinalli then singled to put runners on the corners with two outs. Matthew Juve then reached on a fielder's choice but the Thunder could not record the out and Madrinich scored to complete a 8-run at bat for North Central.

The Thunder finally got back on the scoreboard in the fifth with three runs to make it 14-3. North Central went quietly in the bottom of the inning before Manhattan added two more in the top of the sixth to get within 14-5. However, the Rams erased all doubts in the final result with seven more in the bottom of the sixth to create the final 21-5 score line.

Jordan Fair was 1-2 with an RBI and a 4 walks on the day. David Babcock was also 1-2 with three walks while also earning the pitching victory by going all seven innings allowing three earned runs on eight hits, striking out six with just one walk. Cody Van Sickle, Taylor Madrinich and Sidney Grimmett all added a pair of RBI.

SATURDAY GAME ONE: ABC 13, NCU 2

Saturday had the Rams matched up with the same two teams once again at QuikTrip Park. In the first game, North Central trailed 2-1 after the opening frame but the Patriots posted a six spot in the bottom of the second to lead 8-1 through two. North Central got a run back in the third but still trailed 8-2 after 4.5 innings.

A pair of NCU errors in the bottom of the fifth allowed the Patriots another five runs, three of which were unearned. Both teams were scoreless in the sixth and the Patriots took a 13-2 final in seven innings. Jordan Fair, David Babcock and Michael Cardinalli were all 1-3 at the plate in the first game of the day.

SATURDAY GAME TWO: NCU 7, MCC 4

The final game of the Texas trip for the Rams saw them play their best game of the four game series. North Central pounded out 14 hits and commited no errors in the field on the way to their second victory of the season.

The Rams jumped out in the first inning and would respond to every rally the Thunder made over a nine inning victory. Jordan Fair got things going for the Rams with a lead off single and scored when Cody Van Sickle trippled to center. David Babcock then drove in Van Sickle with a ground out to third base. Manhattan went down in order in their part of the fourth and both teams were scoreless in the second and third frame.

Manhattan got on the board in the bottom of the fourth before the Rams got two more in the top of the fifth. Cody Van Sickle posted a one-out single and stole second to get the Rams rally going. David Babcock singled through the right side and an error allowed Van Sickle to score from second and moved Babcock to second. A two-out single from Michael Cardinalli then scored Babcock from second and the Rams would lead 4-1 through six full innings.

North Central left two runners on board in the top of the seventh and Manhattan took advantage to tie the game at 4-4 with three runs in their part of the inning. But once again North Central had an answer in their next at bat.

Sidney Grimmett would reach base with one out on an error and advanced to second on the play. Jordan Fair then mashed a key double to center to drive in what would prove to be the winning run. Fair then went back to work on the mound and effectively retired Manhattan in the bottom of the eighth.

In the Rams final at bat they would give themselves a bit of space with another two run rally. Three straight base hits from David Babcock, Taylor Madrinich and Michael Cardinalli loaded the bases for North Central. Matthew Juve then drew and RBI walk that also kept the bases loaded. With one out, Sidney Grimmett then reached on an error that allowed Madrinich to score and gave NCU a 7-4 lead going into the final at bat for the Thunder.

Fair continued to show control of the game and began the inning with a strikeout and got the second out on a ground ball back to the mound. After a couple of singles, Fair got the final out on another ground ball back to the pitching rubber and the Rams got a series sweep of Manhattan.

Jordan Fair was the star for NCU in Saturday's win, going the full nine innings on the mound to earn the win. He scattered four runs over 11 hits and struck out 8 with only 2 walks. He was also 2-5 at the plate with a double, an RBI and a walk.

Cody Van Sickle was 3-5 with an RBI triple and a stolen base. David Babcock was 3-5 with an RBI. Michael Cardinalli ended his first college road trip by going 3-4 with a walk and an RBI. With the victory over Manhattan, the Rams already eclipsed last year's win total as North Central won just one game in 2014.

North Central will now come back to Minnesota for a few weeks of practice before returning to action on March 24. The Rams will take on Crown College (St. Bonifacius, Minn.) in a non-conference double-header at Crown. The double-header is scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch.