Superior, WI -- North Central University (NCU) Baseball traveled to Superior, Wisconsin to take on the University of Wisconsin-Superior (UWS) Yellowjackets in a doubleheader affair this afternoon. Game one was highlighted by a stellar day on the mound for Christian Rodriguez, who pitched the full 9 innings and totaled 5 strikeouts with zero earned runs. The Rams received what turned out to be a walk-off sacrifice fly from Nate Boyer in the top of the 9th to take game one 3-2. Game two would be a different story as the Rams committed 6 errors and UW-Superior won by a final score of 10-0.
Game 1: NCU 3, UWS 2
Game one started slow as neither team could find their rhythm offensively. On the mound for the Rams, senior pitcher Christian Rodriguez gave up just one hit and totaled 2 strikeouts through the first three innings. In the top of the 4th, freshman Caleb Alfaro recorded NCU's first hit with a single up the middle, but the Rams could not capitalize as they were retired with two runners left on base. The Yellowjackets struck first in the bottom of the inning as three straight batters singled to bring in two scores, making it 2-0 in favor of UWS. Innings 5 and 6 would both go scoreless, leaving the Rams with one more chance to extend the game. NCU did just that as Willy Cruz singled, Chris Garza walked, and Lorenza Bazan walked to load the bases. Nate Boyer reached on a fielders choice and the Yellowjackets committed a catastrophic throwing error attempting to turn the double play, allowing Garza and Cruz to both score and tie things at 2-2. In the bottom of the 7th, Rodriguez stuck out the first batter and ground out the following two. The 8th inning would go scoreless. Garza reached second on a single and an error by UWS. Bazan was hit by a pitch and Garza would steal third on the next pitch. Nate Boyer would then get the RBI sac fly to score Garza and take the 3-2 lead. Rodriguez would seal the deal with a strikeout and a pair of ground outs as the Rams took game one by a final score of 3-2. Christian Rodriguez pitched a stellar 9 innings as he totaled five strikeouts and gave up just four hits, one walk, and zero earned runs.
Game 2: NCU 0, UWS 10
Game two would be all Yellowjackets from the first pitch, as UWS totaled 6 runs through the first 2 innings. The Rams totaled 6 hits through the first three innings, but none of which would yield scores for the Blue and Gold. Superior would tack on an additional run in the bottom of the 4th to make the deficit 7-0. The 5th and 6th innings would both go scoreless before North Central had 3 errant throws in the bottom of the 7th to allow 3 more Yellowjacket scores. NCU was able to go hit-for-hit with UWS, as both teams totaled 9 hits on the day. However, the Rams struggled mightily on the defensive end, committing 6 errors and giving up 3 unearned runs. UW-Superior won game two by a final score of 10-0 after seven innings.
Top Performers:
Christian Rodriguez (Sr., RHP) - totaled 5 SO, 4 H, 1 BB, and 0 ER in 9.0 IP
Chris Garza (Jr., DH) - went 1-3 (2R, BB) in game one
Julian Encinas (Sr., C) - went 2-4 (2B) in game two
Looking Ahead:
Baseball will complete its season series with UWS tomorrow starting at 12:00 PM at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex in Superior, WI.
All fans are encouraged to tune into the official Rams Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages for updates on baseball and all things NCU Athletics.
