SUPERIOR, Wis. – The Yellowjacket baseball team has entered the final week of its regular season, and it promises to be one of the busiest weeks of the campaign. Weather permitting, the Yellowjackets are scheduled to play eight times over the course of the next eight days.
 
For the first game of the eight, the Yellowjackets hosted North Central Sunday, a team they outscored 34-0 and outhit 35-6 in a pair of games Friday. The third time around wasn't as easy, but the Yellowjackets got it done in adverse conditions, extending their winning streak on a rainy afternoon.
 
Payton Steiner (Baraboo, Wis./Baraboo) had three hits, including his first collegiate home run, and earned a rare four-inning save as the Yellowjackets defeated the North Central 17-10 at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex.

With the win, the Yellowjackets (14-15, 10-4 UMAC) extended their winning streak to five games and remain in the thick of things in the UMAC standings, where they currently sit as the No. 3 seed behind Northwestern and Crown, but the Yellowjackets have games at hand on both teams.
 
The bats were working for the Yellowjackets once again, as they pounded out 18 hits and scored in all but two innings on the way to the victory. In addition to Steiner, Ben Rhodes (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) and Isaac Fugere (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East) also had three hits to lead the way offensively.
 
In the bottom of the first the 'Jackets got runs on a Bryce Flanagan (Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd Senior) sacrifice fly and a single to left by Fugere.
 
North Central scored a single run in the top of the second, but the Yellowjackets answered with two more in the bottom of the inning. With one out and a runner on second Sam McNosky (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle) singled up the middle to bring home the third Yellowjacket run. McNosky would then score on groundout to make it 4-1 after two.
 
North Central tied the score via the long ball in the top of the third, but the Yellowjackets quickly regained the lead in the bottom of the inning when Fugere reached on a fielder's choice. In the top of the fourth North Central moved back in front, 6-5, but the Yellowjackets batted around in the bottom of the inning to pull ahead for good.
 
Nick Fredrikson (Minneapolis, Minn./St. Anthony Village) got the scoring started, coming home on a one-out single by Rhodes. Steiner followed with a two-run homer to left, giving he Yellowjackets an 8-6 lead. Two more runs scored when Christian Garcia (Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs) singled up the middle. Two hitters later Jordan Trimble (Victorville, Calif./Grandview (Colo.)) singled up the middle to score Garcia. Later in the inning Rhodes would drive in his second run of the frame, plating Trimble with an infield single. When the dust settled, the Yellowjackets scored seven times to take a 12-6 lead into the fifth.
 
The Rams scored single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to cut the Yellowjacket lead to four, but in the bottom of the sixth the 'Jackets scored three more to add to their cushion. Two came in on a single to right by Steiner, who then scored on a single by Flanagan.
 
Both teams scored again in the seventh. North Central added a pair of runs on a home run, but the Yellowjackets got them back in the bottom of the inning. Garcia led off the inning with a single and two hitters later scored on Trimble's infield single. A sacrifice fly by McNosky brought home Gunner Johnson (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior), making it 17-10.

That was more than enough for Steiner, who mowed through the Rams in the final two innings to preserve the victory for starter Matt Tappe (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony Village). Tappe went five innings, allowing seven runs on eight hits to go along with two walks and two strikeouts. He improves to 5-2 on the year. Steiner allowed three runs on six hits over four innings to get his first save. He walked one and struck out five.
 
The Yellowjackets will be back home Sunday, May 8 when they close the regular season with a doubleheader against Minnesota Morris. The first pitch is set for 3 p.m. at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex.