NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College baseball team dropped both games of its conference-opening doubleheader against UW-Superior by the scores of 23-4 and 8-4 on Saturday.

GAME 1

The Knights struggled on the mound and in the field in a 23-4 loss in the opener.

MLC got off to a strong start thanks to a Jonathan Kock RBI groundout to score James Hemmelman in the first inning, and then took a 4-3 lead in the third thanks to Kock's first home run of the season.

The Yellowjackets would take control from there, taking advantage of four MLC errors, ten walks, and four hit batters. UWS scored seven times in the third inning, and nine more in the fourth on the way to the win in seven innings.

Kock started the game and allowed ten runs (six earned) on eight hits in 3.0 innings as he fell to 1-3 on the season in defeat.

Hemmelman scored two of the Knights' runs, while Kock drove in three in the game.

GAME 2

The Yellowjackets completed the doubleheader sweep thanks to a five-run fifth inning to defeat the Knights 8-4 in game two.

MLC took a 4-2 lead into the fifth inning thanks to a strong starting effort from Hemmelman on the mound, and two runs batted in by Jason Lindemann. Lindemann drove home both runs on a home run to deep left field in the third inning, giving him two long balls this season.

UWS took the lead for good in the fifth inning, scoring five times against Hemmelman to take a 7-4 advantage heading into the late innings, and then added one more tally in the seventh off relief pitcher Dillon Solomon to finish the scoring.

Hemmelman fell to 0-2 on the season with the loss, allowing seven runs on six hits and two walks, while striking out one, in 5.0 innings.

Lindemann finished the game with three hits, two runs scored and two runs batted in. Kock, John Marquardt and Jared Lindemann each finished with two hits for MLC.

The Knights fell to 2-12 on the season and 0-2 in UMAC play with the two losses. UWS improved its record to 4-8 overall and 2-0 in league play with the two wins.

MLC will return to action on Tuesday, April 12, when it hosts Bethany Lutheran College in a double header. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.