Maple Grove, MN -- Today, the North Central University (NCU) baseball team concluded their series against the Martin Luther College (MLC) Knights in a doubleheader as they celebrated senior day. Yesterday, North Central defeated the Knights 12-6 in a 14-hit performance. Today, NCU mounted a late-game comeback to defeat Martin Luther 13-9 in game one of the doubleheader and fell 8-5 in game two. Despite losing the final contest, the Rams won their first conference series of the year at 2-1. 

Game 1: NCU 13, MLC 9

North Central stormed back in the late innings to take game one. Trailing 4-2 entering the bottom of the seventh, the Rams erupted for five runs, sparked by a double from junior outfielder Jonah Taylor and a two-RBI single by sophomore outfielder Caleb Alfaro. Freshman third basemen Abiram Terron De Jesus grounded out to move runners, and junior first baseman Brett Letness delivered a two-RBI double to cap the inning. In the eighth, NCU added six more. Alfaro ripped another RBI single, senior catcher Teagan Burch followed with a two-RBI ground-rule double, and Letness put the game out of reach with a three-run homer over the right field fence—bringing his RBI total to five. Burch finished 2-2 with three RBIs, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch. Alfaro was 3-5 with three RBIs, and Taylor added two hits and two runs scored. Junior left-hander Tim Yohan Dixon picked up the win in relief, and senior left-hander Cameron Pittman secured his first save of the season.

Game 2: NCU 5, MLC 9

The second game saw the Rams playing from behind after giving up a six-run sixth inning. Sophomore Nolan Taylor got the Rams on the board in the fourth after Caleb Alfaro reached and scored on a wild pitch. In the sixth, Teagan Burch drew a walk and later scored on an RBI single from Abiram Terron De Jesus, who had a two-hit performance in the nightcap. In the eighth, Jonah Taylor singled and came around to score on a groundout from De Jesus. Then in the ninth, junior Dawson Barson and N. Taylor drew back-to-back walks before J. Taylor roped a two-RBI double to right field, closing the gap to 9-5. Jonah Taylor finished 2-5 with a double and two RBIs, while Barson went 2-4 with a walk and a run. Junior Brett Letness, who started at first base, also threw a scoreless ninth inning in relief.

Top Performers:

• Teagan Burch (Sr., C): combined 2-3, 3 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 HBP, 2B, SB
• Caleb Alfaro (So., LF): combined 4-9, 3 RBI, 3 R, BB
• Brett Letness (Jr., 1B): 2-5, 5 RBI, R, HR, 2B in game one

Looking Ahead:

NCU will travel to Duluth, Minnesota to compete in a doubleheader against the College of St. Scholastica (CST). These games are scheduled for Tuesday, April 22nd at 2:30 PM and 5:00 PM.

All fans are encouraged to tune into the official Rams Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter (X) pages for updates on baseball and all things NCU Athletics.