NEW ULM, Min. – North Central University (NCU) opened up their Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) portion of their schedule on Tuesday afternoon as they traveled south to battle the Knights Martin Luther College (MLC) . The Rams were victorious in game number one by a score of 8-0, thanks to some impressive pitching and late game hitting. However, in game number two, MLC found a way to flip the script on the Rams as they finished NCU off in similar fashion by a score of 8-0. The split moves the Rams to 1-1 in the conference, while Martin Luther improves to 1-3. 

GAME ONE RECAP
Freshman, Michael Barrientos (W, 2-2) was on the bump for the Rams in game one and the rookie right hander was impressive, shutting down Knight's hitters early and often. The Long Beach, California, product tallied just two strikeouts on the afternoon, but allowed a mere five hits. The Rams were the first to make noise on the scoreboard as Justin Torres connected on a sacrifice fly in the 5th inning to bring home a run, and Barrientos helped his own cause in the following inning with a run batted in of his own. The Rams brought home six more runs in the final three innings to run away with game one by a score of 8-0, giving Barrientos his second win of the year. Torres paced the Rams from the plate as he accounted for four of the team's eight runs. 

GAME TWO RECAP
After a very balanced offensive attack in game one, game two was a different story for the Rams. NCU was unable to find many open areas in the Knight's defense, tallying just four hits throughout the ball game. In contrast, the Knight's offense found their stride in game number two as they more than doubled their hit total from the first game, topping 11 hits in game number two. Those 11 hits resulted in 8 runs for the Knights as they continue to work at bats against Ram's starter, Andrew Kemper (L, 2-2). Kemper held the Knights to just one run through the first four innings, but that is when the unraveling began. The Knights exploded for 7 runs in the 6th and 7th inning as they pulled away in the ball game, eventually propelling them to their 8-0 victory.

Next Up
North Central are set to be in action on their home field in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, for the first time on Saturday afternoon as they will match up with the Cougars of Minnesota Morris. The doubleheader is slated for a 1:30 p.m. first pitch. With the weather that is rolling in  according to the forecast for later this week, be sure to keep an eye on ncurams.com and all NCU Rams social media for game updates and any schedule changes. 

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