The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) Golden Eagles Baseball team swept the Northern State University Wolves on Wednesday afternoon from the UMC Baseball Field. Tyler Jochen hit a walk-off single in Game 1 before the Golden Eagles took Game 2 by a score of 7-4.
GAME ONE –
Both starting pitchers in Game 1 were dialed in. Conner Richardson (Jr. Grand Forks, N.D.) delivered a 1-2-3 top of the first inning for UMC before the Golden Eagles were quickly retired in the bottom of the frame. After another 1-2-3 inning for the Wolves in the top of the second, Ben Thoma (Sr. Clearbrook, Minn.) singled to lead off the bottom of the inning but tried stretching it into a double and was thrown out at second base. Ben Goelz (So. Maple Lake, Minn.) then followed with a walk, Chad Musser (Sr. Plymouth, Minn.) delivered a base knock, and Mitch Goodwin (So. Prior Lake, Minn.) also walked to load the bases with 1 out. UMC couldn’t take advantage of the excellent scoring opportunity, with the next two hitters striking out, and the game remained 0-0 after two innings of play.
The pitchers remained dialed in, with the next base runner not coming until the top of the fifth inning with a leadoff walk for Northern State, giving them their first base runner of the game. After Richardson struck the next hitter out, a UMC error put runners on first and second base with one out. Richardson would induce a fly ball for the second out of the inning, but a 2-out single in the next at-bat would plate a run giving the Wolves a 1-0 lead.
The Golden Eagles would respond and tie the game in the bottom of the fifth. Teddy Giefer (So. Courtland, Minn.) drew a 1-out walk, got to second base on a wild pitch, and then scored on a double from Tyler Jochen (Sr. San Jose, CA.). Jochen would be stranded on base with the next two Golden Eagles hitters being retired, and the game was once again tied at 1-1 after five innings of play.
Northern State would threaten in the top of the sixth with a leadoff single and a sac bunt to move the runner to second base with one out. A groundball right back to Richardson would be fielded cleanly and UMC would get the runner on second base in a rundown for the second out of the inning. Richardson would get the last out via a groundball, and UMC was coming to bat in the bottom of the sixth inning in a tie game.
In the bottom of the sixth, Goelz would draw his second walk of the game, but UMC couldn’t bring him across. Brody Sorenson (So. Grand Forks, N.D.), would pitch a scoreless top of the seventh for UMC, setting up the Golden Eagles for a chance to get a walk-off win.
Goodwin worked a full count to lead off the bottom of the seventh and was hit by a pitch putting him on first base. Giefer proceeded to lay down an excellent sacrifice bunt, putting the winning run on second base with 1 out. Jochen delivered the first run of the game for the Golden Eagles, and he would deliver the game-winning one as well, roping a single to centerfield for a walk-off single to give UMC a huge 2-1 victory.
GAME ONE BOX SCORE, CLICK HERE
For UMC-
Tyler Jochen 2 for 3, 2 rbi
Chad Musser 1 for 3
Ben Thoma 1 for 3
| Game 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Northern State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| UMC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
| Conner Richardson- UMC | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Brody Sorenson- UMC (W, 1-1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Michael Chevalier- Northern State | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Mitchell Tolk- Northern State (L, 2-1) | 1.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
GAME TWO –
Northern State jumped on the scoreboard early scoring one run in the top of the first. The Wolves hit back-to-back singles to start the game, and after a fielder’s choice put runners on the corners, another single drove in the first run of the game making it 1-0 Northern State. The lead didn’t last long, as UMC came back in the bottom of the first to tie the game thanks to back-to-back 2-out doubles from Jake Hjelle (So. East Grand Forks, N.D.) and Thoma, making it 1-1 after one inning of play.
Both teams went scoreless until the bottom of the fourth inning when the Golden Eagles took their first lead of the game. Goelz led off the inning with a triple, and Musser hit a groundball bringing him home for a 2-1 UMC lead.
Neither team would threaten in the fifth inning, and after the Wolves went quietly in the top of the sixth, UMC took control with a four-run sixth inning. Hjelle got the scoring started in the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run over the left-field fence. Thoma, Goelz, and Musser would then all reach to load the bases and force Northern State to make a pitching change. The Wolves would get two straight outs, but Jochen would work a 2-out walk scoring Thoma, and Brad Morris (Sr. Auckland, New Zealand) would then deliver a two-run single to break the game open, giving UMC a 6-1 lead.
The Wolves would get two runs over the next two innings thanks in part to three UMC errors. That cut the deficit to 6-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, where the Golden Eagles would get one run back on a rbi groundout from Ben Bryant (Sr. Fargo, N.D.).
Northern State would score once more in the top of the ninth inning, but it wasn’t enough, and UMC would hang on to win Game 2 7-4 and earn a much-needed conference sweep. Jake Osowski (So. East Grand Forks, Minn.) got the win in Game 2 for UMC throwing eight strong innings.
UMC improves to 17-25 but more importantly 9-14 in the NSIC. Their chances of making the NSIC Conference Tournament have increased, and it will all come down to their final series of the season against the University of Mary which will begin this Friday. The first pitch in Game 1 of the three-game series is set for Friday at 1:30 p.m. from the UMC Baseball Field. Northern State drops to 15-23 and 10-15 in the NSIC.
GAME TWO BOX SCORE, CLICK HERE
For UMC-
Jake Hjelle 2 for 4, HR, rbi, 2 runs
Ben Thoma 2 for 4, rbi, run
Ben Goelz 2 for 4, 2 runs
Teddy Giefer 2 for 4
| Game 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Northern State | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 1 |
| UMC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 4 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
| Jake Osowski- UMC (W, 5-0) | 8 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| Jakob Wiirre- UMC | 0.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Brody Sorenson- UMC (S, 2) | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Andrew Pugliano- Northern State (L, 1-5) | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
