The Northwestern baseball team had a rough week this past week, which featured a three-game set against Bellevue.
The Raiders traveled to Bellevue University on Friday, March 13, where they were defeated 1-3 by the Bruins.
Unfortunately the Raiders’ luck didn’t improve as they squared up again against Bellevue for a doubleheader on Saturday, March 14. The series ended with the Raiders being swept, as Bellevue took the first game 6-5, and the second 7-2.
Despite the end results of these matchups, Northwestern got off to strong starts in all three of the contests, scoring first in each.
Game one sat at a 0-0 tie up until the top of the sixth inning when sophomore Casey Guthmiller hit a solo home run to give Northwestern a 1-0 lead.
Regrettably the lead was short-lived, as the Bruins were quick to respond with three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Game two saw Northwestern achieve an even more promising start as the Raiders leapt to a 4-0 lead in the first two innings.
Guthmiller led the game off with a double, and senior Mitch Peschon capitalized by sending Guthmiller home with a double of his own. Northwestern extended their lead to two runs in the first inning as Christian Hammet plated Peschon on a bases loaded single.
In the top of the second the Raiders added another pair of runs, with Guthmiller and Peschon making it home again. The lead began to slip in the bottom of the second as Bellevue scored their first run.
The third and fourth innings saw the momentum sway in the Bruins’ favor, as Northwestern failed to score and conceded a pair of runs in each inning.
The game remained competitive until the end, but Northwestern ended up falling 5-6 to Bellevue.
The final game of the set unfolded familiarly, as the Raiders scored in the first inning as freshman Reed Smith was batted in by senior Skyler Wheeler.
The teams battled back and forth for the next few innings, but Bellevue secured their third consecutive win with a final score of 7-2.
After this week’s games the Raiders overall record has fallen to 7-13, while the Bellevue Bruins improve to 17-4 on the season.
The Raiders don’t have much time to brood on these losses with a four-game set against the SW Minnesota State Mustangs upcoming this weekend.
SW Minnesota State will host the first double header on Friday, March 20, and Northwestern will be home to the second double header on Saturday March 21.
This match-up could provide an ideal opportunity for Northwestern to bounce back from this week’s defeats and improve their nonconference record.
