ST. PAUL , Min. – North Central University (NCU) hosted a neutral site doubleheader in St. Paul on Saturday afternoon as they matched up with rival, Crown College. Crown entered the afternoon sitting in the three seed of the conference standings, but by the end fo the afternoon would be leapfrogged by the Rams for that three spot. The Rams pulled off a come from behind victory to take game number one by a score of 7-5 and were bolstered by an impressive pitching performance in game number two for the 3-0 victory and a huge conference series sweep.

GAME ONE RECAP
After the Rams struck first thanks to a Storm blunder in the field, Crown moved themselves into the driver's seat. The Storm eventually pushed their lead to three in the top half of the 8th inning as their scored their third unanswered run. NCU would not go away, however, as the offense awoke in the bottom half of the 8th and the train fell off the tracks for the Storm. The Rams combined a hit with three walks to eventually tie the game up at 5-5 which influenced the second pitching change in the inning alone. Squaring up against the third Crown Pitcher in the inning, the Rams forced two wild pitches that scored two more runs awakening the NCU dugout and regaining the lead. Senior pitcher, Andrew Kemper headed to the mound following the explosive inning to close the door for the Rams earning his first save of the year and the 7-5 victory in game one.

GAME TWO RECAP
After notching the save in game one, Kemper stepped to the mound for the start in game two, and the right hander was dialed in from the beginning. The Woodbury, Minnesota, product had compiled 40 strikeouts in his previous 22.2 innings pitched, and he continued to add to his total in this one. With Kemper finding his way with the Storm hitters, the Ram's offensive found away to get their guy some run support. In the 4th inning, the Rams strung together four hits to score their three runs. The 3rd inning hit parade was highlighted by senior outfielder, Taylor Justice, who led off the inning with a bang as he connected on a shot that landed over the right field fence for his first home run of the year. The three runs produced by the Rams was all that Kemper needed as he continued to leave the Storm hitters stymied. Kemper finished his complete game outing by striking out the last three outs in the final inning en route to the 3-0 victory and seven total strikeouts.

Next Up
North Central will use what's left of their Easter weekend to prepare for a busy week as they will compete in three doubleheaders in five days. The first matchup will be their first game from their home field in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, on Wednesday, April 24th, as they will battle with St. Scholastica in an important doubleheader for UMAC standings.

MEDIA: If you need further information, please feel free to contact Justin Brown at 612-343-3539 or email Jdbrown@northcentral.edu.