ST. THOMAS, Minn. -- The Lumberjacks out of Northland College traveled to the home of the Rams to play the North Central University (NCU) baseball team in an afternoon doubleheader. The
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) doubleheader was split between the teams, the first going to the Rams at 5-4, and the second going to the Lumberjacks 19-17.
Game One Recap
The Rams opened up the game strong with three pretty quick outs in the top of the first inning followed by two runs in the bottom of the same inning. The first was scored by
Teyghan Hovland (Austin, MN, Austin High School) off of a double by
Jack Parker (Bordentown, NJ, Bordentown Regional High School) and the second was off of a double this time by
Julian Encinas (Tucson, AZ, Amphitheater High school) to bring home
Parker. The Lumberjacks answered those two runs with a homerun to start the second inning. NCU's stellar outfield composed of Hovland,
Kyle Huerth (Moorpark, CA, Moorpark High School), and
Kristian Garcia (Las Vegas, LV, Palo Verde High School) held down the fort for the Rams, especially in the early innings as they stopped NC's batter from taking any bases.
Huerth scored in the third inning for the Rams off a wild Lumberjack pitch, putting NCU up 3-1. The middle innings were quite for both teams but the action picked up in the sixth inning. It started by run for NC, followed by an NCU run scored by
Christian Rodriguez (Tuscon, AZ, Catalina Foothills High School). At the top of the seventh, the Lumberjacks hit another homerun to tie up the score 4-4. The eighth inning didn't see a change in the score. In the ninth inning,
Rodriguez, the Ram's pitcher, threw three clutch strikeouts, not giving NC any change to put another run on the board.
Rodriguez threw 11 strikeouts in the ninth innings. To win the game,
Parker doubled yet again to center field to send
Daniel Montana (Tucson, AZ, Cienega High School) home for the game-winning run.Â
Game Two Recap
This second matchup of the day was an offensive frenzy for both teams as 36 runs were scored between the two teams after nine innings. The offense started right away in the first inning as the Lumberjacks scored four runs followed by five from the Rams including two RBI's from
Garcia's double to right field. The offense cooled down a little in the second inning with just one run from both teams and cooled down even more in the next inning as neither team crossed the home plate. The fourth inning was a success for NC as they scored five more runs combated by only one run from NCU.
Parker had tripled to center field and a double from
Julian Encinas (Tucson, AZ, Amphitheater High school) brought
Parker home. Both teams displayed excellent fielding in the fifth inning but the hitting picked up in a big way in the sixth inning. The Lumberjacks started off with scoring seven runs of their own only too by topped by nine runs from the Rams. NCU players seemed to be constantly running through all four bases after easily hitting NC's pitches. After all the sixth, the score was 17-16, the Lumberjacks ahead by one. In the seventh and eighth innings, NC's pitcher threw four of the six outs challenging the Ram's hitters. The Lumberjacks then scored two runs at the top of the ninth putting themselves ahead by three. While NCU did manage to score in the bottom of the ninth, the one run wasn't enough to overthrow NC, with each team managing to walk away with a win.
The NCU baseball teams moves to 6-5 for an overall record and a 4-3 conference record, placing them at the number three spot in the
UMAC.
Key PerformersÂ
- With three strikeouts in the final inning, Christian Rodriguez threw 11 total strikeouts in the first game against NC.
- Jack Parker went five for five at the plate in the first game bringing in two runs and scoring one himself. Parker continued to succeed in the second game with three more RBI's and two runs.Â
- Julian Encinas added three RBI's and two runs in the second game of the day.
Looking Ahead
With the game against Macalester College postponed tomorrow, Apr. 20, the Rams will get one day to rest and then jump back into action with a doubleheader at Crown College. Games will be held at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m on Thursday, Apr. 21. All fan are encouraged to tune into official Rams
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