SUPERIOR, Wis. – Entering play Saturday, the Yellowjacket baseball team was sitting at 2-4, with all six games having been played at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. In those six games, the Yellowjackets tallied a total of 20 runs, and had yet to connect for their first home run of the season.

Saturday marked the first time in 693 games the Yellowjackets played a game in Superior, and apparently, there was something about playing in the 54880 ZIP code that agreed with the them, and the offense in particular.
 
The Yellowjackets came out slugging Saturday, belting 10 home runs and scoring 37 times on the way to a doubleheader sweep of Northland at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex in Superior. The Yellowjackets built a big lead on the way to a 22-8 win in the opener, before being forced to battle back from a huge deficit to take the nightcap 15-14.
 
With the wins the Yellowjackets have now won four straight games and evened their record on the year at 4-4.
 
Game One
It didn't take the Yellowjackets long to build a cushion in the first contest of the day. After two walks to start the game, Bryce Flanagan (Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd) cleared the bases with a three-run home run to center field to give the Yellowjackets a 3-0 lead. They would add one more in the frame on an Alex Aguilar (Simi Valley, Calif./Westlake ) sacrifice fly.
 
The Yellowjackets blew the game open in the second inning, batting around and scoring nine times. Flanagan again started the festivities with a two-run double to center field, and Nick Shea (Pengilly, Minn./Greenway) and Christian Garcia (Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs) hit back-to-back homers to push the lead to 9-0. Before the inning was over Ben Rhodes (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) homered to left to make it a 13-0 game.
 
Northland would score a single run in the top of the third, but the Yellowjackets answered in the bottom of the inning. Then in the bottom of the fourth the Yellowjackets tacked on four more, increasing their lead to 18-2. The big blow in that inning was a three-run home run to right by Gunner Johnson (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior).
 
Johnson would add to the offense in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run double that made the score 22-2.
 
Northland didn't go away, and set the tone for the second game with a six-run sixth, to make the final score 22-8.
 
All nine starters had at least one hit in the first game, led by Garcia who went 4-for-4, scored twice and drove in a run. Flanagan had three hits and drove in six. Johnson was 2-for-2 and drove in five coming off the bench.
 
Ryan Rodriguez (Chaska, Minn./Chaska) got the start on the mound for the Yellowjackets and went four innings, allowing two runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out six. Rodriguez improved his record on the year to 1-1. Joey Barker (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) pitched the final three innings to pick up his first save of the season.

Game Two
Remember the strong finish Northland had to the opener? Well, they carried that into the second game and built a huge lead early.
 
The Lumberjacks blitzed Yellowjacket starter Jack Bennet in the top of the first, scoring five times on three hits to take the early lead. They added three more runs in the second to increase their lead to 8-0 before the 'Jackets got on the board.
 
In the bottom of the second the Yellowjackets plated three runs, all with two outs, to cut into the Lumberjack advantage. Josh Hukriede (Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd) doubled to score Sam McNosky (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle) all the way from first to get the Yellowjackets on the board. Isaac Grothe (East Bethel, Minn./St. Francis) then took the next pitch over the fence in left to make it an 8-3 game.
 
But Northland had an answer in the third, scoring six more runs to take a 14-3 lead. The Yellowjacket bullpen then took over, shutting down the Lumberjacks the rest of the way and allowing the offense to come back to life.
 
In the bottom of the third the Yellowjackets scored four times, with three of the runs coming courtesy of a Hukriede home run to left, and suddenly it was a 14-7 lead.
 
The Yellowjackets scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, the latter coming on Grothe's second homer of the game, and the Northland lead narrowed to 14-9.
 
Northland scored six runs on the Yellowjackets in the sixth inning of the first game, and in the second game the Yellowjackets flipped the script, and a couple bats, to come all the way back and take the lead.
 
Nick Fredrikson (Minneapolis, Minn./St. Anthony Village) walked and Brandon Rolf (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) reached on a bunt single to get the inning started. Flanagan walked to load the bases and Shea cleared them, taking the first pitch he saw over the fence to pull the Yellowjackets to within one, 14-13. It was the second home run of the day for Shea. Then, on the very next pitch, the 'Jackets drew even, as Ryan Castaneda (San Pedro, Calif./Junipero Serra) blasted the first pitch he saw over the fence in right-center field.
 
McNosky came to the plate next and tripled to center field on a 1-2 pitch, putting the go-ahead run just 90 feet away. And on a day when the bats were doing some serious talking, a passed ball brought McNosky home giving the Yellowjackets their first lead of the game, 15-14.
 
Matt Tappe (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony Village) came on to pitch the seventh, and after having a ball lined off his leg to start the inning, settled in and retired three hitters, including two via strikeout to earn the save and preserve the win.
 
Once again all nine starters had hits in the game, including six players who had multi-hit games, as the Yellowjackets pounded out 15 hits. Shea and Hukriede each drove in four, while Grothe plated three to pace the offense.
 
Dante Bender (Gurney, Wis./Hurley) got the win for the Yellowjackets, coming on in relief in the fourth inning and throwing three innings of shutout ball. He is now 1-0 on the year.
 
The Yellowjackets and Lumberjacks will play another non-conference doubleheader Sunday at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex in Superior. The opening pitch is set for 1:30 p.m.