SUPERIOR, Wis. – At the college level, baseball is a spring sport, but in 2022, in the Upper Midwest anyway, it's probably more accurate to consider it a late-winter sport despite the fact the calendar says the season is technically spring.
 
Since returning from its spring trip to Florida, the Yellowjacket baseball team has had to endure its share of the elements, with rain postponing numerous games, while on the days when they do play it has been anything but springlike. Still, as the game count has increased and winter has maintained its grip, the Yellowjackets have started playing their best baseball of the season.

Friday afternoon, the Yellowjackets were on top of their game in all phases, riding strong defense, stronger pitching and a thundering offense to a sweep of North Central at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex.

Ryan Rodriguez (Chaska, Minn./Chaska) twirled a gem in the opener, going the distance in shutting out the Rams 10-0. In the second game, Riley Harbaugh (Banks, Ore./Banks) and Payton Steiner (Baraboo, Wis./Baraboo) combined on a two-hit shutout as the Yellowjackets completed the sweep with a 24-0 drubbing.
 
With the wins, the Yellowjackets (13-15, 9-4 UMAC) have now won four straight and are 8-2 in their last 10.
 
Game One
Rodriguez was in control from the start in this one, amassing four strikeouts in the first two innings and not allowing a baserunner the first time through the order. He finished the game by scattering four hits and striking out nine to improve to 5-3 on the season. It was the third time in his last four starts he hasn't walked a hitter, and he has walked just one hitter in his last 29 innings pitched. Over that same span, Rodriguez has fanned 34 batters, ranking him in the top three in the UMAC in strikeouts.
 
Scoreless through three innings the Yellowjackets scored three times in the bottom of the fourth inning to get on the board. Steiner singled to lead off the inning and scored on a Bryce Flanagan (Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd Senior) double. Isaac Fugere (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East) followed with a double to bring home Flanagan. Two hitters later Fugere scored on a groundout to make it 3-0.
 
The Yellowjackets scored three more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Nick Fredrikson (Minneapolis, Minn./St. Anthony Village) led off the inning with a base hit and scored when Ben Rhodes (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) doubled. Rhodes came home when Steiner followed with a single up the middle. Flanagan followed with another double, scoring Steiner to increase the Yellowjackets lead to 6-0.
 
In the bottom of the sixth the Yellowjackets extended the lead, plating three runs for the third inning in a row. The running game took center stage as the Yellowjackets stole home twice in the inning. In between the steals Flanagan had an RBI single, pushing the advantage the 9-0.

The Yellowjackets closed out the scoring and invoked the run rule when Rhodes singled to left, scoring McNosky, making the final 10-0.
 
Offensively, the Yellowjackets were running on all cylinders, pounding out 16 hits, 14 of which came from the top five hitters in the order. Fredrikson, Steiner, Flanagan and Fugere all had three hits.
 
Game Two
The offense picked up in the second game right where it left off in the first, scoring six times in the bottom of the first to blow things open early. The big hit came from Jordan Trimble (Victorville, Calif./Grandview (Colo.)), who cleared the bases with a three-run inside-the-park home run on a full count.
 
In the third the Yellowjackets scored three times, getting RBI singles from Christian Garcia (Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs) and Nick Shea (Pengilly, Minn./Greenway). They would add two more runs in the fourth to make it 11-0.
 
Already in position to invoke the run rule for the second game in a row, the Yellowjacket offense exploded in the sixth, scoring 13 runs on nine hits. Trimble added to his already impressive stat line, plating two runs with a double to right. He would drive in another run later in the inning, and finished the game going 4-for-5 with three runs scored and six driven in.
 
Flanagan had three hits for the second straight game, going 6-for-8 in the two games. Garcia also had three hits in the contest, helping the Yellowjackets to a season-high 19 hits. Ten different Yellowjackets had at least one hit in the game.
 
Harbaugh got the start and earned his first collegiate victory, going six scoreless innings while allowing just two hits. He walked two while striking out three. Steiner came on and pitched a perfect seventh, striking out two of the three hitters he faced.
 
After an off-day Saturday, the Yellowjackets and North Central will close out their three-game series Sunday at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex. The first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.