The University of Wisconsin Superior split an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference doubleheader with northern Wisconsin rival Northland College to open its home schedule, winning game one 5-3 before falling 5-4 in game two at Whereatt Field in Superior.

UW-Superior (5-15, 3-1 UMAC) got plenty of offense from the brothers Albertson, as rookie Cory Albertson (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater H.S.) contributed a home run in both ends of the twinbill and sophomore Stephen Albertson (Stillwater, Minn/Stillwater H.S.) added a long ball and a double on his day. The Yellowjackets also got a strong pitching performance from senior right-hander Grant Schneider (Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial H.S.) (2-1) in game one. He surrendered two earned runs on five hits, while striking out three in 5.0 innings. Junior Ryan Rukavina (Duluth, Minn./Denfeld H.S.) bridged the gap with two shutout innings before handing the ball to sophomore Braeden Barr (San Diego, Calif./Grossmount H.S.), who picked up his first save of the year for the Yellowjackets throwing the final two innings, striking out one while allowing one earned run on two hits.

Barr started his day at third base, where he had three RBIs on the day, with a sacrifice fly in the first inning and a two-run single in the second getting his day started. Northland scored two in the fourth to pull within one, but the younger Albertson launched his first home run of the day in the seventh. The Yellowjackets added their fifth run of the day on an error on the LumberJacks infield. Northland's Carson Ferry (0-3) suffered the defeat despite striking out six on the day, allowing three runs on just three hits but walking eight in 5.0 innings.

Northland 5, UW-Superior 4
UW-Superior suffered from wildness on the mound, totaling five hit batters on the day and a pair of walks. Senior Brock McDermid (Pulaski, Wis./Pulaski H.S.) (0-2) struck out six, but allowed four earned on seven hits, also tossing two wild pitches on the day. Zach Bennett (Corona, Calif./Santiago H.S.) relieved him in the seventh but gave up a run after a walk, a pair of hit batters, and a bases-loaded RBI groundout in the inning. Northland scored on a wild pitch early in the first and tacked on a second run on a single by Samuel Lehman later in the inning. S. Albertson hit his home run in the second, with a failed stolen base attempt ahead of him costing the Yellowjackets a run. The 'Jacks' Jakob Freele answered with a solo shot of his own leading off the top of the third to give Northland another lead.

Senior Chad Patko (Stone Lake, Wis./Hayward H.S.) doubled home two runs to knot the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth after a LumberJack error helped load the bases with two out. Northland regained the lead on a fielder's choice groundout with the bases loaded after a pair of hit batters in the top of the fifth. C. Albertson hit his second homer of the day in the bottom of the seventh, but the Yellowjackets could not scrape across the game-tying run in the final two frames despite leading off the eighth with a pair of hits. Northland's Jake Morris set down the final six batters in order including striking out in the side in the bottom of the eighth to pick up a complete-game victory. He scattered 11 hits and four walks, allowing two earned while striking out seven on the day.

UP NEXT
UW-Superior will look to get back on the winning edge Friday as the Yellowjackets host Finlandia University in a non-conference match-up. Opening pitch is set for 1 p.m. at Whereatt Field.