NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College baseball team lost game one of its weekend series against North Central University (NCU) by the score of 3-2 on Friday.

First-year starting pitcher Sam Rodriguez put together his strongest outing of his collegiate career for the Knights, throwing all nine innings and striking out a career-high eight batters.

The Rams jumped on the board first with a solo home run in the second inning, and then pushed their lead to 2-0 with another run in the fourth.

MLC would come back, however, as Mason Cox drove home Zach Klement on a sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the fourth inning, and Elijah Henning tied the game 2-2 the next frame with an RBI-single that scored Jackson Lindemann.

The scored remained tied 2-2 until the ninth inning, when the Rams' Kristian Garcia hit a two-out double that scored Christian Rodriguez from first base to give them the 3-2 lead.

The Knights rallied in the bottom half with runners on first and second base, but the Rams were able to get out of the jam to secure the win.

Rodriguez (0-3) took the loss but allowed only three runs on seven hits and three walks in his first career complete game.

The Knights fell to 2-16 on the season and 2-6 in UMAC play in defeat. NCU improved to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in league play with the win.

The two teams will return to action tomorrow (Saturday, April 16) for a doubleheader scheduled to start at 1 p.m.