MLC sweeps Northland College in doubleheader

By BOB VARMETTE

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- The Martin Luther Knights won their doubleheader with the Northland Lumberjacks Friday afternoon. That's good for the Knights no matter what.

Even better is they did it the way you're supposed to -- with timely hitting, good pitching and solid defense. That made for two quick games as MLC swept Northland 2-1 and 4-0 at Mueller Park in UMAC baseball.

Both games were limited to seven innings by mutual agreement.

"I thought the kids played solid defensive ballgames," MLC coach Drew Buck said. "Obviously, we would like to hit the ball more at crucial times. I think we did a few times and that gave us an advantage going late into the ballgames. I was happy with that."

MLC (7-4, 5-2 UMAC) certainly wasn't overpowering offensively. The Knights collected seven hits in the first game and nine hits in the second game.

Mike Kuschel didn't have any problems with the cool weather or the Lumberjacks' pitching. He was 2-for-2 with a triple and an RBI in the first game, and went 3-for-3 with a double and a run scored in the second.

"I just was hitting the ball real well," Kuschel said. "And the team got hits when we needed to. I just did my part."

Kuschel drove in the Knights' first run of the first game with a sacrifice fly to right field in the third that plated Aaron Dolan. He almost got the Knights another insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning, leading off with a triple, but was stranded when the next three Knights went down in order.

Kuschel figured prominently in both of MLC's two-run innings in the second game. He singled in the third and doubled in the fifth, later scoring on Phil Hochmuth's single to center that gave the Knights a 4-0 lead.

"I'm just trying to relax, see the ball and hit it," Kuschel said. "It's pretty simple."

Baseball is really a pretty simple game. And when it's played well, it's a lot more fun to watch than any high-scoring home-run derby.

Northland (3-18, 1-3) and MLC combined for 12 hits in each game. There were only two errors committed in each game.

None of the four starting pitchers allowed more than two earned runs. And both games were each played in less than 90 minutes.

"There weren't a lot of errors, the pitchers were throwing strikes," said Knights right-hander Phil Hochmuth (1-2), who got the win in the first game. "They were getting outs and it makes for a fast game."

Both Hochmuth and Dave Landers (0-4) went the entire way in the first game and neither walked a batter.

Hochmuth allowed one unearned run on five hits; he struck out six. Landers took the loss, scattering seven hits and striking out seven, and allowing one earned run.

Hochmuth kept Northland guessing with a combination of fastballs and cut fastballs mixed in with a few curve balls. He allowed just one extra-base hit -- a two-out double to Dave Kester in the top of the sixth inning.

Kester scored one batter later on what would have been the third out when Brian Hamp's grounder to Jon Bauer at short forced an errant throw. It was the Knights' only error in the two games.

Hochmuth got out of a jam an inning earlier after the first two Lumberjack batters reached on singles. Hochmuth then got the next three batters in order, getting Eric Cummings looking to end the inning and preserve the Knights' 1-0 lead.

"When they had those runners on second and third, I knew I had to get those outs," Hochmuth said. "I knew I had to get a couple of strike outs or a couple of easy ground outs. That's all I was looking for.

"I just threw a lot of strikes and tried to let them hit it to our defense. We scored a couple of runs and that's all we needed."

Jake Briney (2-1), who wasn't scheduled to start Friday, allowed just two hits over five innings to get the win in the second game. Briney struck out six and walked two.

Briney only got into trouble once, in the top of the fourth inning. He gave up a two-out double to Chris Hamp that MLC left fielder Andy Mueller couldn't quite get to and then walked Troy Brown on four pitches. But Briney fanned Jeff Frey, stranding both Lumberjacks.

"He did OK," Buck said. "He wasn't as sharp, as crisp, with his fastballs, but I thought he spotted the ball today well. ... Jake's actually going on a couple of day's rest. He's not going to be able to be with us (Saturday) so I was hoping to get as many innings out of him as possible."

Dan Frey worked the final two innings for the Knights, allowing one hit and striking out three.

MLC got all the runs it needed off left-hander Tyler Knutson (0-4) in the bottom of the third inning.

Sophomore Aaron Dolan lofted a one-out single to left field and scored when Frey singled to right. The Knights upped the lead to 2-0 after Kuschel and Mueller hit back-to-back singles, Mueller's scoring Frey.

MLC added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Frey reached on an error and Kuschel followed with a double to left-center. Frey scored when Mueller, who went 2-for-2 with two RBI, flied out to left and Kuschel came home on Hochmuth's two-out single to center.

"We played well," Kuschel said. "We needed these. Now, we're on a roll."

Northland and MLC will play another doubleheader at 1 p.m. today at Johnson Park.

1st Game

NORTHLAND 000 001 0--1 5 1

MARTIN LUTHER 001 010 x--2 7 1

Landers and Kester. P.Hochmuth and Hering. W--P.Hochmuth, 1-2. L--Landers, 2-4. 2B--Northland, Kester; MLC, Dolan. 3B--MLC, Kuschel. HR--None. T--1:22

2nd Game

NORTHLAND 000 000 0--0 3 2

MARTIN LUTHER 002 020 x--4 9 0

Knutson, Dudley (6) and Kester. Briney, Frey (6) and Hering, Huss (6). W--Briney, 2-1. L--Knutson, 0-4. 2B--Northland, Haup; MLC, Kuschel. 3B--None. HR--None. T--1:19.