ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Senior left-hander Ryan Rodriguez (Chaska, Minn./Chaska) threw a complete-game, seven-hitter, but Keegan Vercoe hit two-run home runs in the first and sixth innings as Northwestern sneaked past the UW-Superior baseball team for a 4-3 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference victory at Reynolds Field Friday.
 
Rodriguez (1-3) tossed his third complete game of the season, striking out six with just two walks, to give his team a chance in its UMAC opener. Trailing, 4-1, heading to the eighth inning, UWS (4-12, 0-1) got consecutive doubles from sophomore Isaac Fugere (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East) and senior Bryce Flanagan (Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd Senior) off of Eagles' starter Nick Drinken, putting runners on second and third with no one out. Senior Ryan Castaneda (San Pedro, Calif./Junipero Serra) followed with a sharp single to right field, scoring Fugere to cut the deficit to two and force Drinken from the game. 
 
Christian Garcia (Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs) then lifted an Aaron Severson pitch to center for a sacrifice fly that plated Flanagan with one out. Payton Steiner (Baraboo, Wis./Baraboo) singled up the middle, and with Sam McNosky (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle) batting, Severson uncorked a wild pitch, moving pinch runner Cole Ondrus (Esko, Minn./Esko) and Steiner to second and third, respectively.
 
Ondrus was cut down at the plate on a bouncer to second base for the second out of the inning, and McNosky was thrown out on an attempted steal at to end the threat.
 
Ben Rhodes (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) worked a two-out walk in the bottom of the ninth, but Severson got Fugere to ground to third to end the game as Severson earned his third save of the season.
 
Vercoe gave Northwestern (7-4, 2-0) a 2-0 lead with a one-out homer to left-center field in the bottom of the first before the 'Jackets manufactured a run in the top of the fourth to slice the lead in half. Castaneda doubled to right field to lead off the frame and Garcia singled to right, putting runners on the corners. Steiner then grounded out to Drinken on the mound with Castaneda scoring on the play.
 
That's the way it stayed until Vercoe's fourth homer of the season to right center made it 4-1 with one out in the sixth.
 
Drinken improved to 3-0 on the year with the win in seven innings. He scattered 11 hits and three earned runs with three strikeouts and a walk.
 
Castaneda went 3-for-4 with two doubles, RBI and run scored to pace the Superior offense. Garcia and Steiner chipped in with two hits and an RBI apiece in the 12-hit attack. 
 
The same teams play a doubleheader Saturday at Reynolds Field starting at 2 p.m.