MAUSTON, Wis. – In the 1980s, Rolaids antacid had a commercial with the slogan, "How do you spell relief?". You won't get that answer here (seek out a commercial on YouTube for that), but relief is what the Yellowjacket baseball team needed heading into Monday's Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) opener against Northland.
 
The 'Jackets entered Monday scuffling a bit, having dropped seven in a row going back to the middle of their trip to Florida. They needed a little relief from that streak.
 
Relief is what they needed, relief is what they got, and they spelled it l-e-f-t-h-a-n-d-e-d-p-i-t-c-h-i-n-g.
 
Ryan Rodriguez (Chaska, Minn./Chaska) twirled a gem in the opener, and Declan Higgins (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle) was lights-out after coming out of the bullpen in the second game, as the Yellowjackets took two from the LumberJacks. The 'Jackets took the opener 3-0, before coming from behind to win the second contest, 16-7 at the Woodside Sports Complex in Mauston.
 
With the wins the Yellowjackets snap their skid and improve to 6-8 on the year, while starting the UMAC season 2-0.
 
Game One
It was all about Rodriguez in the opener, who was in control from start to finish. The veteran southpaw went the distance, allowing just two hits and walking one while striking out nine, vanquishing the LumberJacks in a snappy one hour, 36-minute contest.
 
Rodriguez didn't allow a hit after the third inning and allowed multiple runners on base for the only time in the fourth, on the way to his second win of the year.
 
The Yellowjackets plated the eventual game-winning run in the bottom of the second when Christian Garcia (Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs) scored on a Trey Sybrant (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville Senior) groundout. Garcia added to the lead in the bottom of the fourth, when he launched a long home run over the scoreboard in right-center field, making it 2-0. It was the first round-tripper of the year for Garcia, who currently leads the Yellowjackets with a .488 batting average.
 
In the bottom of the fifth the 'Jackets manufactured their final run of the game. Brian O'Dwyer (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove Senior) singled to left and was sacrificed to second. He tagged up on a flyout before coming home on Noah Dagostino's (Andover, Minn./Andover) single to left center, making the final score 3-0.
 
The Yellowjackets had nine hits in the game, led by Dagostino, Garcia and Payton Steiner (Baraboo, Wis./Baraboo) who had two knocks apiece.
 
Game Two
The first game Monday lacked offense, due to the fine pitching coming from both sides, but that wasn't the case in the second game, as both teams' bats woke up – Northland's early in the game and the Yellowjackets' later in the game.
 
Northland took advantage of Yellowjacket starter Ben Welle's (Melrose, Minn./Melrose Area) control issues in the first, coaxing out four walks to help them grab a 2-0 lead.
 
Steiner was electric for the 'Jackets in the game, and he scored their first run, stealing home on a double-steal to cut the Northland lead in half in the top of the second.
 
In the bottom of the inning, however, Northland struck again, doing its damage with two outs to increase the lead. The big blow was a two-run homer by Zach Ross, making it 4-1 LumberJacks.
 
The Yellowjackets plated a run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the third, again cutting the Northland lead in half. But the LumberJacks answered again, scoring three times in the bottom of the fourth to move in front 7-2.
 
Things changed in the top of the fifth as the Yellowjackets chased Northland's starter and took advantage of the bullpen. A Nick Fredrikson (Minneapolis, Minn./St. Anthony Village) groundout brought home the first run of the inning. Later in the inning, Isaac Fugere (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East) singled through the left side to bring home the inning's second run. After a pitching change Garcia singled to load the bases, setting up perhaps the highlight of the day.
 
With a number of people from his nearby hometown looking on, Steiner launched a ball to deep center field, clearing the bases and tying the game. The hit was Steiner's third triple of the weekend.
 
The Yellowjackets moved in front in the top of the sixth on back-to-back RBI singles from Fredrikson and Dagostino. Then in the seventh the Yellowjackets put the game out of reach with another five-run inning. Garcia and Jordan Trimble (Victorville, Calif./Grandview (Colo.)) had RBI singles, and later Fredrikson drove in two with a single through the right side. When the dust settled, the 'Jackets were up 14-7.
 
They closed out the scoring in the top of the eighth, and again it was Steiner by way of the triple. This time he drove in a pair, making the final margin 16-7.
 
The 'Jackets pounded out 18 hits in the game, with Garcia going 4-for-5 and Steiner going 3-for-4 to lead the way. Sam McNosky (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle) also had three hits. Steiner drove in five runs and Fredrikson four to pace the Yellowjackets.
 
Welle lasted 3.1 innings, allowing five runs on four hits before giving way to Ethan Coady (Toronto, Ontario/Etobicoke School of the Arts), who surrendered two runs on three hits. Owen Santiago (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) relieved him and got out of the fourth inning before Higgins came on and turned in a masterpiece. The freshman lefty earned his first win as a Yellowjacket, scattering four hits over five scoreless innings to go along with a walk and three strikeouts.
 
The Yellowjackets are scheduled to return to action when they host Northwestern in a single, nine-inning game. The first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday, March 31.