Cougars take one of three from Northwestern
(Story by: Zach Koenig)
St. Paul, MN—The University of Minnesota-Morris baseball team was finally able to dodge the weather long enough to get in three games at Northwestern on Saturday. The Cougars dropped the first two games by the scores of 5-1 and 8-0, but rallied to take the third contest 7-4.
Nik Randall (So. Burnsville, MN) took the mound for the Cougars in the first game. Though pitching a scoreless first inning, Randall ran into trouble in the second, giving up seven hits (including a triple and a home run) en route to five Northwestern runs.
Kirby Marquart (Sr. Hancock, MN) homered to lead off the Cougar half of the fifth inning, but that proved to be the only run UMM could muster.
While Randall took the loss, reliever Joe Boedigheimer (Jr., Moose Lake, MN) pitched four innings of one-hit ball to back him up.
Matt Peterson (So. Burnsville, MN) led the offense with two hits, while Marquart and Nick Hervin (Sr. Cold Spring, MN) picked up one hit apiece.
The second contest saw Andy Schuster (So. Alberta, MN) take the hill for the Cougars. After four innings, Northwestern had built a 4-0 lead. They would add four more runs in the sixth inning, including a home run.
Minnesota-Morris could not generate any offense against the Northwestern starter in game two. Dan Folie (Jr. Fridley, MN) picked up the only two hits (including one double) in the contest for UMM.
Schuster was charged with the loss after pitching five and two-thirds innings and allowing eight earned runs. Kyle Blair (Fr. Calgary, Alberta) came on in relief to retire the last batter of the game.
The Cougars got off to a much better start in the final tilt, putting up five runs in the top of the first inning. Singles from Kevin Pope (Sr. Ely, MN), Hervin, and Greg Roth (Sr. Cold Spring, MN) led to the first run, followed by a three-run home run from Folie to put the score at 4-0. The next Cougar batter, Marquart, also homered to give UMM a five-spot.
Minnesota-Morris starting pitcher Lee Arvold (Fr. Blaine, MN) pitched well in the early innings. A two-run home run from Northwestern in the third inning was his only major faux pas.
The Cougars got those two runs back in the fifth inning, when Folie singled and was doubled home by Marquart. Later in the inning, a ground ball from Roth scored Marquart to give the Cougars a 7-2 lead.
Northwestern picked up two more runs in the later innings, but never mounted a serious threat to UMM’s lead.
By only allowing three earned runs in six innings, Arvold nabbed the win. Roth pitched the final inning in relief and allowed one earned run.
Leading the offense for the Cougars were Folie (3-4, 3 RBI) and Marquart (2-4, 2 RBI). Also picking up two hits apiece were Roth and Hervin.
 |  |
| Minnesota-Morris | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Northwestern College | 5 | 8 | 1 |
| Game one |
Game 1 box
| |
| Minnesota-Morris | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Northwestern College | 8 | 9 | 3 |
| Game two |
Game 2 box
| |
| Minnesota-Morris | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Northwestern College | 8 | 9 | 3 |
| Game two |
Game 3 box
