The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle baseball team continued the trend of struggling in game one, followed by dominating in game two, as they split a DH with the Minot State Beavers, losing the first game 2-0 and winning the second game 13-2.
Both games ended in 7 innings.
GAME ONE –
FIRST INNING
Max Weber (Sr., St. Paul, MN) started out hot for the Golden Eagles, as he retired the Beavers in order on nine pitches, all of them strikes.
UMC didn’t have much luck in the home half of the inning. After two groundouts, Josh Dykhoff (Jr., Wadena, MN) recorded a two-out base hit, but Kobe Senn (Sr., Fargo, N.D.) couldn’t cash in, as he grounded into a force play to end the inning. The Dykhoff hit would be the only hit for the Golden Eagles in the game.
SECOND INNING
MSU got started with a leadoff walk, and then with one out, a base hit by Shane Kary put runners on the corners with one out. However, the UMC defense would come up clutch as Sawyer Satrom (Sr., Portland, N.D.) started a 5-4-3 around the horn double play to keep the game scoreless.
Aaron Wensloff (So., Roseau, MN) would have a one-out walk in the home half of the 2nd inning, but that would be the only baserunner, as the rest were retired on a flyout and two strikeouts. That walk would be the last baserunner UMC would get until the 6th inning.
THIRD INNING
The 3rd started off great for the Beavers, as Seungjun Song and Kekoa Munos both reached, and then after a sacrifice bunt by Michael Williamson, were placed on 2nd and 3rd with only one away. Then, though, Max Weber would rise to the occasion, getting a strikeout and a flyout to end the inning scoreless.
UMC would go down in order in the bottom of the third on a strikeout, and groundout and a popout.
FOURTH INNING
After a one-out walk, Max Weber was pulled in favor of Isaac Roers (Jr., Stacy, MN), and he came through in the clutch, striking out the first two batters he faced to prevernt the Beavers, once again, from getting on the board.
UMC was once again retired in order, this time on two flyouts and a popout.
FIFTH INNING
After Roers recorded the first two outs of the inning, Michael Williamson came up for the third time. This time, he sent one over the fence in left-center field to put the Beavers on the board with a 1-0 lead. The rest of the inning ended quietly.
For the third straight inning, UMC was retired in order, this time on a groundout, flyout and a strikeout.
SIXTH INNING
MSU would be retired in order in the top of the 6th on two flyouts and a groundout.
UMC’s best chance of the day came in the 6th. Fantastic MSU starting pitcher Connor Hill hit the first batter of the inning with a pitch, and then walked Brock Larsen (Jr., Blaine, MN) after a flyout to put two on with one away. After a wild pitch put runners on 2nd and 3rd, Hill was pulled in the middle of an at-bat for Connor Meldrim, and after an intentional walk loaded the bases, Meldrim recorded a strikeout and a groundout to keep the score at 1-0.
SEVENTH INNING
MSU came into the seventh looking for an insurance run, and Michael Williamson once again rose to the occasion. After Kary and Song each recorded base hits, with two outs, Williamson shot one through the hole into right field to put the Beavers up 2-0. The rest of the inning would end quietly.
In the home half of the inning, UMC got another one-out walk, but MSU closer Ayden Sauerbrei shut the door, striking out two batters en route to his 4th save of the year, and a 2-0 Beavers win.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
| MSU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| UMC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
For UMC-
Josh Dykhoff – 1 for 2, BB
Aaron Wensloff – 0 for 2, BB
Brock Larsen – 0 for 2, BB
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
| Connor Hill – MSU (W) | 5.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Max Weber – UMC | 3.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Ayden Sauerbrei – MSU (S) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Isaac Roers – UMC (L) | 3.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
GAME TWO –
FIRST INNING
MSU was retired in order to kick off the start of game 2, with Isaac Wensloff (Jr., Roseau, MN), on three days rest, retiring the Beavers on two strikeouts and a flyout.
UMC got off to a much better start; after Brock Larsen singled with one out in the inning, Josh Dykhoff sent one into the stratosphere in right field for a long two-run home run to put UMC on the board early, 2-0. Aaron Wensloff walked, looking to keep the inning alive, but a fielder’s choice retired the side.
SECOND INNING
Isaac Wensloff continued to showcase that his stuff was on point in this game, as he struck out two more batters, getting around a one-out walk and a wild pitch to keep the Beavers off the scoreboard in the 2nd.
After two loud flyouts to left, Kyler Miller reached base with a two-out single. However, nothing came of it as Dylan Debilzen also flew out to end the inning.
THIRD INNING
As the third inning got underway, MSU got their first hit of the game, as Seungjun Song recorded his third hit of the doubleheader with a leadoff single. But, Wensloff didn’t back down, as he struck out the next two batters he faced, followed by a flyout to end the inning.
After a leadoff walk by Brock Larsen, UMC couldn’t move further along, as Jake Siebert instigated three straight groundball outs to keep the score at 2-0 UMC.
FOURTH INNING
MSU would be retired in the top of the 4th in order, on two groundouts and a flyout.
The home half of the inning went far different than the top half. Sawyer Satrom led off with a base hit, then Kobe Senn beat out his sacrifice bunt attempt for a single to put two on with nobody out. Then, Kodi Miller (Sr., Grand Rapids, MN) cleared the fence with a three-run bomb, putting the Golden Eagles up 5-0. As soon as that at-bat was done, the rain came, and the game was delayed 30 minutes due to lightning in the area. MSU changed pitchers after the delay, but the UMC offense did not slow down. ler Miller led off the resumption with a walk, then after Brock Larsen walked and an out was recorded, Dykhoff drove in another run with an RBI single, making the score 6-0. Then, Aaron Wensloff drove in a run with an RBI double to put UMC up 7-0. UMC would get one more run on a wild pitch, and would take an 8-0 lead into the 5th inning.
FIFTH INNING
MSU looked to take advantage of a new pitcher after the delay, and Shane Kary led off the inning with a base hit. However, Jake Orthner grounded into a double play in the next at-bat, and Song struck out swinging to quickly end the inning.
After UMC led off the bottom of the 5th inning with back-to-back walks, a crazy sequence happened where UMC scored a run on two separate throwing errors, but had the trail runner caught in a roundown between 2nd and 3rd, where he was tagged out. After that, the lead runner who stayed at 3rd was driven in on a Debilzen double, putting UMC up double figures at 10-0. After an errant pickoff throw and yet another walk, Dykhoff recorded his 4th RBI of the game on a groundout to go up 11-0. UMC would get their final run of the inning in the next at-bat, as MSU committed their fifth error of the inning, sending the game to the 6th with the Golden Eagles up 12-0.
SIXTH INNING
After MSU got a man on with a leadoff double, two outs were recorded on back-to-back strikeouts, and it looked like the Beavers would go scoreless in another inning. However, Oscar Pegg came up and clubbed a two-run homer to end the shutout bid, cutting the score to 12-2. The rest of the inning ended quietly.
In the home half, UMC had their first 3 runners reached base, capped off with an RBI single by Danny Wensloff, putting the Golden eagles up 13-2. The inning ended after UMC had their second out from a baserunner in a rundown, followed by a double play to end the inning.
SEVENTH INNING
The Beavers needed two runs to keep the game alive, but they were retired in order on two strikeouts and a groundout, giving the Golden Eagles a 13-2 win via a 7-inning run rule.
UMC is now 14-18 on the year, and 11-11 in the NSIC.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
| WSU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| UMC | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 1 | X | 13 | 11 | 0 |
For UMC-
Josh Dykhoff – 2 for 4, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
Kodi Miller – 1 for 3, HR, 3 RBI, BB
Kobe Senn – 2 for 3, BB
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
| Isaac Wensloff – UMC (W) | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Jake Siebert – MSU (L) | 3.0 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Joey Connelly – UMC | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Brayden Deering – WSU | 1.0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
