FORT PIERCE, Fla. – Kenyon College head baseball coach Matt Burdette tinkered with his batting order Thursday and got the results he wanted in 10-3 game-one win over the Northwestern (MN) University Eagles. The offensive production didn't carry over into Thursday's second game, however, and the Eagles rode the arm of starting pitcher Troy Nelson to a 6-1 victory.

Game one saw the Lords pluck the Eagles for 15 hits and finally get the big offensive inning they were after. Burdette moved Jake Dunn from his usual No. 3 spot in the batting order to the leadoff role. Matt von Roemer, who previously occupied the top spot in the order, moved into the No. 2 hole. The other Kenyon batters all slid up a spot and Jono Chafe took over as the designated hitter.        

With a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, the updated Kenyon order exploded for six runs to break the game wide open. The big hit came from Phillip Nam, who smoked a two-run double. Other run-scoring hits were produced by Chafe, Tyler Roldan, and Max Heldman, while von Roemer had a sacrifice fly that started it all.

Senior Kyle Hardacker was responsible for Kenyon's first three runs of the game. He singled home Dunn in the first inning and then singled home both Dunn and von Roemer in the second. Overall, Hardacker was 3-for-3 with a run scored and three RBI hitting out of the No. 3 spot.

Dunn was 2-for-3 with two walks, three runs scored, and a couple of stolen bases. Those two steals gave him seven on the season and 47 for his career. He is now tied with Nick Riggs '88 for third place among Kenyon's all-time stolen base leaders.

On the mound, senior Tim Krahn was holding Northwestern at bay. Krahn went five innings and allowed two earned runs on seven hits and one walk. He struck out four and improved his season pitching record to 2-1. Sam Gillespie pitched the final two innings for Kenyon and gave up one earned run on two hits.

Game two looked like it would be a pitchers' duel. Nelson struck out six of the first nine Kenyon batters he faced. His counterpart, Paul Henshaw, struck out six of the first seven Northwestern batters he saw before yielding a double in the third inning. While both pitchers could not maintain that pace, they did remain hot.

Nelson allowed just three hits and ended up fanning a total of nine. The only run Kenyon could scratch out against Nelson occurred in the fourth inning. That's when Dunn led off with a double and scored on a single from von Roemer.

Meanwhile, Henshaw was let down by the Kenyon defense. An error in the fifth inning led to three unearned runs. Henshaw ended up pitching 4 2/3 innings and suffered the loss after giving up eight hits, but just one earned run. He struck out eight before Spencer Byers closed out the game. Byers didn't get much help, either. Two Kenyon errors in the sixth inning led to two more unearned runs for Northwestern.

While the rest of the Lords' lineup struggled in game two against Nelson, Dunn kept going. He was 2-for-3 with a run scored. One hit was a double, which gave him five on the season and 48 for his career. He now ranks second all-time at Kenyon in career doubles and is chasing record-holder Matt Marcinczyk '06 who owns 50 career two-baggers.

Kenyon (8-5) has one more game left in its Florida schedule. That single, nine-inning contest will play out Friday at 9 a.m. as the Lords take on Geneva College.