New Ulm, MN - The MLC baseball team played its final series and athletic contest against the Northland Lumberjacks this weekend at home. Northland will be closing its doors as a college in a few weeks and defeated the Knights in game one on Friday, 22-6, and in game three, 12-7 on Saturday. In game two, MLC received a complete game shutout performance from its freshman pitcher, Aidan Berg, to beat the Lumberjacks 5-0.

Game 1 Northland 22, MLC 6 (8 innings)

Friday's standalone game featured a hot-hitting offense from the Lumberjacks, as they compiled 16 hits in eight innings of at-bats. Northland broke the game open with six runs in the top of the first and exploded for seven runs in the top of the eighth frame. Northland scored in every inning except for the seventh, and each player in their lineup recorded a base hit.

The Knights got on the board with two runs in the bottom of the second and added a pair of runs in the sixth and seventh innings to reach six. Parker Winghart hit a two-run single to left field in the sixth, while Sam Rodriguez belted a two-run shot to left in the seventh for his third home run of the season.

Winghart and Rodriguez led the team with two RBIs apiece, while Jordan Ramirez and Rodriguez each finished with two runs.

Game 2 MLC 5, Northland 0

Berg pitched a gem in game two of the series and kicked off the parents' and senior day announcements with some positive momentum on Saturday. It was one of Berg's better outings of his freshman season, along with his debut against Hamline in February. Berg tossed nine innings and allowed no runs, while also fanning nine Northland batters in the process. Berg also displayed good command on the mound, throwing just two walks.

The Knights helped out at the plate by scoring their first run in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly from Winghart. The following inning saw MLC score two runs off of RBI singles from Jackson Anderson and Mark Vogel to make it 3-0. The Knights then made it 5-0 with a couple more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Anderson also had a good day on the base pads, stealing two bases for the Knights.

Game 3 Northland 12, MLC 7

In the final game of the series, the Lumberjacks' bats came through again, up and down the lineup to reach double digits. Caden Willis hit a two-run homer as Northland took a 4-0 lead after the top of the second. The next half inning, Anderson countered with a two-run home run of his own to cut it to 4-2.

MLC would make it 4-3 before the Lumberjacks got started again with one run in the fifth and three in the sixth to extend the lead to 8-3. From there, Northland pushed its advantage even further with a four-run eighth inning.

Despite the 12-3 deficit, MLC did attempt a comeback in the ninth and scored four runs after an Alex Ritter RBI single and a three-run home run from Carter Seltz. However, Northland's lead was far too large to overcome, and the Lumberjacks held on for the series win.

Seltz led the Knights at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs, while Anderson finished with two RBIs. Carlos Walta and Ritter also earned two hits in the game in the third and fourth spots in the lineup.

MLC will complete their 2025 season with a home doubleheader versus Carleton College on Wednesday, May 7, starting at 2 p.m.