CARVER, Minn. --- Crown College Baseball battled against the Northwestern Eagles in a sunny pitcher's duel on Tuesday, falling 3-1 in eleven innings. The Storm had an elite performance from senior pitcher Eric Newman, who went eight innings with one earned run, striking out eleven in an incredible outing for the senior. Multiple times Newman allowed opening base runners and still only allowed one run in the contest.
Unfortunately for the Storm, Owen Boerema had a career day for Northwestern, allowing only five hits in eleven innings with fifteen strikeouts and allowing no walks. Newman was relieved by first-year Jacob Van Dam, who pitched two innings of shutout ball before allowing two runs, taking the loss for the Storm.
The lone Storm run came from the speed of senior Seth Betts, who reached on an error in the first inning, advancing to second on the same mistake, stealing third, and advancing home on a passed ball. Unfortunately, this game clinched the UMAC Championship for the Eagles, winning their first outright title since 1996.
Between games was a ceremony for the outgoing seniors where Seth Betts, Bailey Sarto, Nick Schroedle, Eric Newman, and Connor Buchanan had their careers celebrated. This class of seniors set up Head Coach Ryan Doheny on their spectacular as one of Crown's best athletic programs, and these five had remarkable contributions to make that possible.
Northwestern won game two 13-3 in three innings, in a match in which the Storm, drained from the grueling first contest, struggled to contain the powerful Eagles lineup. The Storm started scoring when Seth Betts doubled to score Mason Brock. After that, junior Kyle Schroedle retook the NCAA Division III lead for home runs, with two solo shots for two-thirds of the Crown run production. Schroedle now has 15 home runs this season, extending his career Storm record.
Betts received the start for the Storm, with seven strikeouts and three earned runs during five innings of work. Then first-year Kevin Golden relieved Betts and struggled with the potent Eagles lineup, only recording one out and allowing six earned. After that, Van Dam once again came in relief with the bases loaded and ended up with four more earned runs for a UNW ten-spot in the inning. Caleb Keen pitched a shutout inning before the end of the contest.
Despite their own results today, the Storm have now clinched their second consecutive playoff appearance as UW-Superior split with the Northland Lumberjacks. Crown will likely end up as a No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the upcoming UMAC tournament, which will now officially be hosted in Roseville by Northwestern. Next up, the Storm will face the North Central Rams on Saturday in Minneapolis to conclude conference play. Crown Baseball has set a record for conference wins in their stellar season.
