AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Northwestern College baseball team (8-8, 0-0 GPAC) pulled their record to .500 with a two-game sweep on Monday morning to conclude their spring break trip down in Florida.
The Raiders defeated Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) foe Hastings (3-10, 0-0 GPAC) for the second time this week, 5-0, in the first game of the day. In the second game, Northwestern prevailed 5-3 over American Midwest Conference (AMC) foe, Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) (5-6, 0-0 AMC).
“Pitchers dominated today and allowed our offense to play with some looseness,” said head coach Brian Wede. “We were able to get big hits when we needed them and closed out spring break on a high note.”
GAME 1: Northwestern 5, Hastings 0
Kip Cullinan (Jr., Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) continued on his hot streak, going 2-for-3 with a run and three RBIs for the Raiders in the first game of the day. He belted his third home run of the season, as he now leads the team in homers on the season.
The run of the day came in the third when a ball put in play by Sam Stanford (So., Los Angeles, Calif./Pacifica Christian) would end up scoring Evan Olesen (So., Estherville, Iowa/Estherville Lincoln Central), to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead. That run proved to be the game-winning run.
In the fifth inning, Cullinan drove in his first run of the game with an RBI single that scored Drew Dykstra (Fr., Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale), making it 2-0 Northwestern. An inning later, Noa Vogel (Jr., Castle Pines, Colo./Lutheran) would rip a triple that would score Eli Rash (So., Lake Lotawana, Mo./Summit Christian Academy) from first, extending it to 3-0.
Finally, in the seventh, Cullinan would belt his home run, scoring Dykstra yet again, pushing it out to the final score of 5-0.
Ben Zeutenhorst (Sr., Granville, Iowa/MOC-Floyd Valley) picked up his second win of the season on the mound, improving to 2-1 on the season. He tossed five innings of scoreless baseball, allowing just one of the two Bronco hits on the morning. He faced 16 hitters, striking out four and walking one.
Ethan Buckner (So., Aurora, Colo./Vista Peak Prep) tallied two innings of relief of Zeutenhorst, allowing one hit facing seven hitters. Ryan Reynolds (Jr., Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville) and Brett Shelton (So., Clive, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) combined to toss the final two innings, each throwing a full inning, to complete the shut out of Hastings.
GAME 2: Northwestern 5, Hannibal-LaGrange 3
Game 2 saw Northwestern square off with their second AMC opponent of the season in Hannibal-LaGrange. Northwestern has now won two straight against the Trojans, dating back to their last meeting in 2010 and have pulled within one game of the all-time series record (5-6).
The Raiders struck first in Game 2 as well, as Stanford singled in Dykstra in the first to take the 1-0 lead.
The two teams would be quiet until the fifth, when Hannibal-LaGrange put up three runs to take the 3-1 lead. A double and a RBI ground out did the damage for the Trojans in the frame.
It didn’t take Northwestern long to respond, as they would put up a 3-spot themselves in the bottom half of the fifth. Starting again with Cullinan who roped a 2 RBI double, scoring Olesen and Jaden Snyder (Jr., Larchwood, Iowa/West Lyon) to tie it up at 3-3. Stanford would record his second RBI single of the day, to give the Raiders their final lead of the game at 4-3.
The Raiders tacked on an insurance run in the eighth, as Shelton drove in Tanner Schouten (Fr., Orange City, Iowa/MOC-Floyd Valley) on a sacrifice fly to centerfield.
Dylan Kirkeby (So., Brandon, S.D./Brandon Valley) got the nod in the game, going 4.0 innings allowing no runs, five hits, and struck out six Trojans while walking none. Shane Geurink (So., Norwalk, Iowa/Norwalk) went two innings, allowing just one hit of the seven batters faced and gathered his first win of the season (1-0). Colton Schuchart (Fr., Jourdanton, Texas/Jourdanton) closed the door with two innings of his own, allowing one hit and struck out all six batters he faced to pick up his first collegiate save.
Up Next: Northwestern will commence GPAC play this weekend, beginning on Friday, March 18 when they travel to Yankton, S.D. to battle Mount Marty University (14-5, 0-0 GPAC) in the league opener.
