ST. PAUL - The Martin Luther College baseball team closed its season with a doubleheader split at the University of Northwestern (Minn.) on Saturday. MLC won game one 16-0 in eight innings, but lost game two 14-2 in seven innings.

MLC 16, UNW 0 (8 innings)

The Knights smashed a season-high 17 hits in a 16-0 win in game one.

First-year outfield Caleb Christopher put the Knights ahead 3-0 after three with a sacrifice fly and RBI single, and Dillon Solomon pushd the lead to 5-0 after six with a two-run double.

The Knights put the game away in the eighth, sending 17 hitters to the plate and scoring 11 runs off three different UNW hurlers. Every MLC hitter reached base at least once in the inning, and seniors Tom Keller and Jon Kock each recorded two hits before the final out. 

The offense was more than enough for first-year starting pitcher Adam Kock (2-3), who threw his second shutout of the season. He pitched all eight innings and allowed only six hits while striking out two.

Every MLC hitter in the line-up recorded at least one hit, one run scored, and one run driven in. Keller led the team with four hits. Jon Kock went 3-5 with three runs scored, while Christopher finished with two hits and four runs driven in.

UNW 14, MLC 2 (7 innings)

The Eagles turned the table in game two, building a big early lead on the way to a 14-2 win.

UNW scored at least three runs in four of the first five innings and built a 14-0 lead before the Knights were able scratch two runs across home plate in the seventh inning.

Noah Panzer (1-5) started for the Knights and pitched 1.1 innings, allowing seven runs on eight hits. Solomon and Andrew Mantz finished the game in relief for MLC.

Tyler Roecker, Jason Lindemann and Christopher each recorded one hit for the Knights, who finished the season with a record of 7-25 overall and 3-15 in UMAC play. UNW moved to 15-23 on the season and 5-9 in league play following the split.