Kansas City, Missouri — The Northwestern College baseball team scored 25 runs in a doubleheader sweep of University of Northwestern played Thursday afternoon in Kansas City, Mo. Northwestern won game one 17-4 and held off an Eagles late rally to take game two 8-7.
The Raiders are now .500 this season, improving to 6-6.
Hitting second in Head Coach Brian Wede’s line-up for the first time this season, Sutton Derr matched his career high with four hits and four RBI to pace the Raiders 12-hit attack in game one. Kip Culliinan was perfect at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a home run and three RBI, and Gavin Lorenzen went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and RBI. Noa Vogel smacked a three-run home run in his teams nine-run fifth inning.
Dylan Kirkeby (1-1) earned his first win on the mound, giving up just two hits and one earned run in six innings. The sophomore struck out three and Eddison Goodlow registered the final three outs on a strikeout and double play in the seventh.
Scoreless after three innings, Northwestern answered the Eagles one run scored in the top of the fourth with five in the bottom of the inning. Elijah Rash hit an RBI single and Lorenzen smacked a two-run double.
Wede’s squad put the game away with a nine-run fifth inning, sending 12 batters to the plate, led by Vogel and Cullinan who both hit three-run home runs.
Bryce Crabb (0-1), the first of four Eagles pitchers, gave up five hits and four earned runs in the first four innings. Keegan Veroce hit a double, the lone extra-base hit for the Eagles in game one.
Leading by four (8-4) and heading into the top of the seventh, Northwestern survived a furious Eagles Rally when Derr struck out Ben Spores with the tying run at second to secure the sweep.
The Raider offense totaled 10 hits, seven by the trio of Derr, Vogel and Harold. Derr continued his hot streak with three hits and scored three runs; Harold added two hits and drove in two while Vogel hit a home run for the second consecutive game and drove in three.
Ethan Buckner (2-0), one of four Raider pitchers, picked up the win in relief, giving up one run and striking out three in 1.1 innings. Derr recorded the final two outs for the save.
Vogel’s two-run home run put Northwestern in front 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning. The Eagles plated three runs in the fourth to chase Northwestern starter Luke Hughes after 3.1 innings and take their only lead. The Raiders countered with five runs in their half of the fourth, sparked by two-run double by Harold. Three straight singles by Derr, Harold and Vogel led to the final run in the sixth.
