New Ulm, MN - The Martin Luther College baseball team took game two of its home series with North Central this weekend. The Knights topped the Rams 11-1 in the first game today behind the arm of Matt Rieger, but lost game one on Saturday 11-1 and game three 10-4.

North Central 11, MLC 1 (7 Innings)

The Rams put their imprint on game one by scoring four runs in the top of the first. MLC put up their only run of the contest off of a Spencer Lilienthal RBI double to right center field.

From there, North Central added three runs in the third and two runs each in the fourth and fifth frames to walk away with the series opener. 

Christian Rodriguez earned the victory for the Rams, as the righty tossed a complete game against the Knights. Jackson Anderson  gave up seven runs in three innings, as fellow freshman, Joseph Olson, came in relief and fanned three Rams' batters in four innings of work.

MLC 11, North Central 1 ( 7 Innings)

On Sunday, MLC opened the day with a flipped result and got their win started off when Parker Winghart rocked a liner to right field to put the Knights up 2-0 in the first inning.

MLC posted a six-run bottom of the second inning to go up 8-0. The Knights showed some patience at the plate and found the right pitch to hit, knocking in the majority of their runs off of singles. 

The Knights gained a complete game start from Rieger, who allowed just two hits while striking out four batters in seven innings. The senior surrendered one run (0 earned) and had his best outing of the season, keeping the North Central lineup guessing throughout the game.

Offensively, MLC displayed an all-around performance and had five players record multi-hit games. Mason Cox led the team with four hits, while Winghart and Lilienthal finished with three RBI apiece.

Not only did the Knights hit well (MLC 17 hits/North Central 2 hits), but they also were active on the base pads, swiping a season-high six stolen bases in the game.

North Central 10, MLC 4

MLC started off the final game of the series on Sunday with a 1-0 lead after Caleb Heckendorf scored off of a wild pitch by Michael Escalante in the bottom of the first. However, Escalante would settle in and allowed only one more run over the next seven innings. The Rams' pitcher also received some run support that included a four-run seventh inning. In that frame, Teagan Burch hit a bases clearing double to left center field to give North Central a 9-1 advantage. 

Jordan Ramirez came up with some big hits for MLC, as the junior had an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh and ninth innings. The Knights added their fourth run from an Ethan Melso RBI groundout, but the Rams managed to record the final out for the 10-4 win over MLC.

Connor Heckendorf threw 6.2 innings for MLC and gave up nine runs (7 earned), but the left-hander threw five strikeouts on the mound. Aaron Bode came in relief to pitch 2.1 innings and the senior struck out four North Central hitters.

MLC (5-23, 2-13) plays again next weekend against Crown on Friday, April 26 and Saturday, April 27 (Parents' Day). First pitch on Friday is at 3 p.m.