UMAC Game of the Week: Bethany Lutheran at Northwestern - Baseball
UMAC Game of the Week Archives
ST. PAUL -- The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Game of the Week is a feature that takes place each week throughout the conference portion of the season with one contest being selected and highlighted as the UMAC Game of the Week.
This week's UMAC Games of the Week are the weekend baseball series between Bethany Lutheran College and the University of Northwestern. The first game of the series will take place on Friday at 3 p.m. in St. Paul with a double header scheduled to begin at noon on Saturday. The Eagles (5-4 UMAC) and the Vikings (8-1 UMAC) were selected to finish in second and third place respectively in the 2015 UMAC Coaches' Preseason Poll and the three conference games between the two teams will be important as both teams look to remain in the hunt for a berth into the four-team UMAC Postseason Tournament.
About the Vikings
Bethany has been tearing the cover off the ball since UMAC play began. In nine conference games, the Vikings have scored at least ten runs in eight of those contests with four of their last five games ending early due to the 10-run rule.
In conference play, Bethany leads the league in batting average (.409), on-base percentage (.487), and slugging percentage (.570). Four of the top ten batters in the UMAC play for Bethany and they're led by Adam Geiger whose .455 batting average leads the conference. Tyler Hebrink is currently third with a .403 average.
The Vikings are also pitching well on the mound. Bethany boasts three of the top five ERAs in the conference led by Ronnie Donley who is second at 1.77. Lucas Herd is second in the conference in strikeouts (29) and fifth in ERA (2.91). The rotation is proving its depth as five different hurlers have thrown complete games.
About the Eagles
Northwestern enters this weekend’s series against Bethany Lutheran on a four-game winning streak, holding an 11-11 overall record. The Eagles started their conference schedule on a rough patch, losing their first four games, including suffering a sweep to Northland, before hopping on the Wins train. Although he’s not expected to start any of this weekend’s three games, UNW pitcher Erik Nyquist leads the league with a 5-0 record. Nyquist’s 2.54 ERA leads the Northwestern staff.
After suffering an early season injury, Ryan Sutterer returned to the Eagles lineup on a full time basis last weekend and offered an immediate boost to the UNW bats. Since last Friday’s April 3 game against Martin Luther, Sutterer has seven hits and four RBI in 19 at-bats with a home run against Martin Luther last Saturday. While still working to get its offense in full swing, Northwestern has received a consistent, positive statistic line from both Tyler Osborn and Braxton Lindow. Osborn’s .351 batting average leads the team, as do his eight doubles and three triples. Lindow isn’t far behind with a .322 average and a Northwestern-best 28 hits while collecting 20 RBI. Together, Osborn and Lindow have 17 combined multiple hit games in 2015.
Back to pitching – the Eagles will most likely go with ace Connor Olson to start Friday’s nine-inning game. While the senior is still on the hunt for his first official win of the year, Olson has allowed just 12 earned runs in 30 and two-thirds innings. If head coach Dave Hieb has to pull a starting pitcher this weekend, expect one of his top options for relief to be Benjamin Jenney, the junior who owns a 3.09 ERA in nine appearances.
Game Notes
- Northwestern leads the overall series against Bethany Lutheran by a 17-16 mark.
- Bethany and Northwestern have met in the last four UMAC postseason tournaments with Northwestern holding a 3-2 edge in those games.
- Northwestern has won its last three meetings with the Vikings. The teams have only played two games on the Eagles’ campus since 2011, splitting their doubleheader meeting in 2013.
- Bethany is outscoring opponents 112-39 in conference play.
- Drew Quame hit two home runs in the first game of a doubleheader against Martin Luther Wednesday; marking the first time a Bethany batter has done that since May of 2013.
- Tyler Osborn has UNW’s longest hitting streak of the season at 11. Osborn also reached base in 16 consecutive games and is second in the UMAC with seven stolen bases in conference affairs.
- Bethany’s Nolan Grose leads the UMAC with a .606 slugging percentage.
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Northwestern Recap |
Bethany Recap |
Final Scores: UNW 11, BLC 2; UNW 9 BLC 1; UNW 19, BLC 5