SUPERIOR, Wis. – Wednesday afternoon, the Yellowjacket baseball team hosted Hamline for a non-conference doubleheader at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex.
 
The offense has had a tough time scoring runs of late, and the pitching found the going tough, as well, making for a long day Wednesday.

The Yellowjackets fell behind early in both games and weren't able to recover, dropping both games to the Pipers. A late rally came up just short in the opener, as the Yellowjackets (9-15, 2-4 UMAC) lost by a run in extra innings. In the second game Hamline rode a big inning early to a win.

Game One
The Yellowjackets fell behind early, as Hamline scored the first four runs of the game to take the early lead.
 
Trailing 4-0 in the bottom of the fourth, the Yellowjackets sawed the lead in half. Nick Shea (Pengilly, Minn./Greenway) started the rally, drawing a two-out walk. He was followed by Ryan Castaneda (San Pedro, Calif./Junipero Serra), who belted his third home run of the season, clearing the fence in right-center field to make it a 4-2 game.
 
The Yellowjackets came all the way back when they scored two more runs in the bottom of the fifth. With one out and runners on the corners, Iduan Nater (Arecibo, Puerto Rico/Vocacional Antonio Lucchetti) singled through the left side to bring home Sam McNosky (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle) to pull the 'Jackets to within one. Two hitters later Brandon Rolf (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) had a nice piece of hitting, singling through the left side to score pinch runner Mike Rodriguez (Chicago, Ill./Gordon Tech) with the tying run.
 
It stayed that way through the regulation seven innings, and in the top of the eighth inning Hamline moved in front 5-4. Looking to tie the game, the Yellowjackets went down in order and the Pipers took the win.

Strong and aggressive base running has been a staple of Yellowjacket baseball the past several years, but that aggressiveness came back to bite the Yellowjackets Wednesday, as four runners were lost on the base paths in the opening came, taking the opportunity for big innings away.
 
Joey Barker (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) got the start for the Yellowjackets and went 5.2 innings, allowing four runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out six in the no decision. Dante Bender (Gurney, Wis./Hurley) threw a third of an inning and Matt Tappe (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony Village) went the rest of the way, allowing one run on two hits over two innings. Tappe took the loss and is now 2-1 on the year.
 
Game Two
It was all Hamline in the second game. After a scoreless first inning, Hamline scored twice in the second before blowing the game open with a 10-run third.
 
The lone threat for the Yellowjackets came in the bottom of the fifth.
 
With one out Nolan Wolf (Parker, Colo./St. Anthony Village) worked the count full before drawing a walk. Two pitches later he came in as Christian Garcia (Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs) launched his second home run of the season over the fence in center field. It was one of just four hits in the game for the Yellowjackets.
 
Jack Barnett (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) started for the Yellowjackets and took the loss, allowing nine runs on seven hits over 2.1 innings. Brenden Kruger (Cottage Grove, Minn./Hastings), Gunner Johnson (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior), Mike Rodriguez (Chicago, Ill./Gordon Tech) and David Dibble (Kenosha, Wis./Tremper) went the rest of the way for the Yellowjackets.
 
The Yellowjackets are back in action Sunday, April 25 when they travel to Minnesota Morris for a pair of UMAC contests. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at Chizek Field.