SUPERIOR, Wis. – Before winter weather strikes the Twin Ports over the weekend, the Yellowjacket baseball team moved up their series with Martin Luther College. Game one took place Wednesday evening, seeing UWS take a 5-2 win in just over two hours.
 
It was a quick turnaround for both teams Thursday morning, who met just 13 hours after the final out was recorded in the series opener.
 
The Knights got on the board early, scoring a run in the first inning and another in the top of the fifth. Superior was held at bay until a four-run fifth inning gave them the lead, and a five-run seventh inning helped secure a 9-4 victory.
 
Game two MLC struck first again, scoring two in the first. The 'Jackets responded in the bottom of the second by plating a run in both the second and fourth innings before the Knights put up a three spot in the fifth. Superior countered and scored 12 runs in the next four innings, propelling them to a series sweep after a 14-5 victory.
 
Game One Notes

• MLC utilized a one-out double down the left field line to get the bats rolling in the first before a leadoff infield single in the fifth to plate their first runs of the ballgame.
• Superior saw Cole Ondrus (Esko, Minn./Esko) lace a double into right center before an RBI single by Jonny Rhodes (Superior, Wis./Superior) plated the Yellowjackets' first run of the day.
• Payton Steiner (Baraboo, Wis./Baraboo) doubled to right center to plate Rhodes, and Trey Sybrant (Saint Michael, Minn./Saint Michael-Albertville) hit a single to center field scoring Steiner. After a failed pickoff attempt at first, Sybrant advanced to third, leading to a sacrifice fly from Tanner Voight (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater).
• Steiner clobbered a three-run homer to left field, plating Wylee Lottman (Kerkhoven, Minn./Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg) (double down the left field line) and Rhodes (reached on an error).
• Garnering a pinch-hit single through the left side was Devin Frydenlund (Belleville, Wis./Belleville), scoring Maxton Howell (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo) who doubled down the right field line.
• MLC finished the top of the eighth with two runs and two hits, but the damage had already been done as Superior earned a 9-4 win.
• Steiner and Sybrant led offensively, each going 2-5 in game one of the doubleheader. Steiner collected four RBIs on the day and accounted for two runs.
• Dawson Rannow (Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown) garnered his first collegiate hit in the opener, singling up the middle in the bottom of the sixth inning.
• Earning the victory on the mound was Yellowjacket starter Zach Romans (Saint Michael, Minn./Saint Michael). He pitched five innings, surrendering five hits and just two runs while striking out four.
• Declan Higgins (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle) and Kevin Rahe (Princeton, Minn./Princeton) also toed the rubber in the morning, pitching 2.1 and 1.2 innings, respectively. Rahe logged four strikeouts after facing seven batters.

 
Game Two Notes

• Martin Luther scored two runs in the first inning off Yellowjacket starter Josh Pritchard (Surrey, British Columbia/Clayton Heights Secondary), but he settled in and kept the Knights off the scoreboard for the remainder of his outing.
• Superior offered run support in the bottom of the second, coming off a sacrifice fly from Ondrus who plated Voight, reaching on a double to center field.
• UWS tied things up in the bottom of the fourth as the inning began with Voight reaching base on a throwing error from the Knights infield. He advanced to third on a Sybrant single and Howell drove him in off a sacrifice fly.
• Three runs and four hits was MLC's response in the next frame, but the 'Jackets responded with an RBI single from Frydenlund, plating Noah Dagostino (Andover, Minn./Andover) who tripled to right field.
• Four runs and four hits came in the bottom of the sixth for UWS, as they took a 7-5 lead heading into the late innings.
• The Yellowjackets saw more run support come from their offense in the bottom half of the seventh, beginning with an RBI single from Voight. Sybrant then deposited a homer beyond the left field fence, giving UWS a 10-5 advantage.
• After walking and advancing to third, Frydenlund was driven in by Voight's RBI single to right center. Ondrus later logged a two-RBI single to left center before Lottman drove in Howell on a sacrifice fly to left field.
• After Pritchard threw 4.1 innings, Rannow came in relief and pitched two innings, allowing just three hits and one run to earn his first victory on the mound. He gave way to Adam Jensen (Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd) and Christian Pretasky (Meadowlands, Minn./South Ridge), as the duo didn't allow any hits to shut down the Knights.

 
The Yellowjackets return to action next Saturday as they host Crown College. The opening pitch is set for 1 p.m. at Wade Stadium in Duluth, Minn.
  Read Full Article