The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) baseball team bounced back from being shutout 1-0 in game one to win via run-rule 14-4 in seven innings in game two splitting an NSIC doubleheader with Minnesota Duluth played at the UMC Baseball Field.
Game One –
Nate Albrecht (Sr., Wahpeton, ND) tossed a gem for Minnesota Crookston allowing just one hit through his first three innings as the game remained scoreless into the fourth inning. In the top of the fourth inning, Minnesota Duluth utilized a two-out rally to gain the lead. A single to center field scored the Bulldogs’ lead runner from second base following an error by Minnesota Crookston’s center fielder giving UMD a 1-0 lead after four innings. Minnesota Duluth used three pitchers in the seven-inning first game and the Bulldogs’ arms combined for seven shutout inning allowing just four hits while protecting a 1-0 lead before securing a 1-0 win without allowing a baserunner in the final inning. “We didn’t win any battles,” said UMC head coach Steve Gust. “We got deep into some counts, and we weren’t able to win them. Credit their pitchers because they made some pitches when they had to. We just didn’t come through when we had to especially in the early innings when we had chances to score and didn’t make the most of them.”
| G1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| UMD | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| UMC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Nate Albrecht – UMC | 7.0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
For UMC
Brock Reller – 3-3, double
Game Two –
After Minnesota Duluth plated one run in the top of the first inning, Minnesota Crookston responded with a big first inning offensively. Bryce Jorgenson (Jr., Thunder Bay, Ontario) led off the inning with a walk before Landyn Swenson (Jr., Devils Lake, ND) walked putting runners on first and second base. Reed Hjelle (Sr., East Grand Forks) walked to load the bases before Brock Reller (Soph., Grand Forks, ND) singled to left field plating two runs and giving the Golden Eagles a 2-1 lead. A wild pitch moved Reller to second base and Hjelle to third base before a throwing error by UMD’s catcher on a dropped third strike plated Hjelle from third giving Minnesota Crookston a 3-1 lead. Mason Ruhlman (Jr., Algonac, MI) sent a single to right field scoring Reller from third base pushing UMC’s lead to 4-1. Scott Finberg (Jr., Stillwater) singled to center field plating Jonathan Lund (Sr., Tolna, ND) from third base and closing out the Golden Eagles’ first inning scoring with Minnesota Crookston in front 5-1. Minnesota Duluth used a three-run home run in the top of the third inning to pull within 5-4, but once again the hosts responded. Brock Reller started the bottom of the third inning with a walk before Mason Ruhlman reached on an error putting runners on the corners. Ben Thoma (Soph., Clearbrook) walked to load the bases before a wild pitch scored Reller from third base boosting UMC’s lead to 6-4. Following a strikeout for the second out of the inning, Bobby Chu (Jr., Redwood City, CA) walked to reload the bases before Bryce Jorgenson walked scoring Ruhlman and increasing the Golden Eagles’ lead to 7-4. Landyn Swenson followed by reaching on an error at second base as two more runs scored and Minnesota Crookston took a 9-4 lead into the fourth inning. Brock Reller and Jonathan Lund singled to start the bottom of the fourth inning before Mason Ruhlman walked to load the bases with no outs in the inning. After two-straight outs including a sacrifice fly hit to center field by Scott Finberg that made it 10-4, Bobby Chu walked to reload the bases for Bryce Jorgenson. Jorgenson wore a pitch to bring home Ruhlman before a wild pitch allowed Thoma to score giving UMC a 12-4 lead after four innings. Brock Reller and Jonathan Lund both walked to open the sixth inning before Mason Ruhlman singled through the right side of the infield scoring Reller and pushing the Golden Eagles’ advantage to 13-4. Ben Thoma sent a sacrifice fly to shallow center field scoring Lund and putting Minnesota Crookston in control 14-4. UMC closed out their bounce-back performance over the final two innings not allowing the Bulldogs to pull back within ten runs as the Golden Eagles secured a 14-4 run-rule victory in seven innings. “Our at-bats were better, and we were able to finish some things,” explained UMC head coach Steve Gust. “We put the bat on the ball and made them make plays. Obviously, some of the walks and errors that they had helped us score in double-digits. We did a better job just with our at-bats.”
Minnesota Crookston improves to 26-19 overall and 18-12 in conference play. The Golden Eagles wrap up their regular season with a three-game series this weekend against Minot State beginning with a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 1:00 PM in Crookston. Minnesota Duluth improves to 13-32 overall and 10-23 in NSIC games.
| G2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| UMD | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 4 |
| UMC | 5 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 1 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Graeme Cherry-UMC | 5.0 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| Conner Richardson – UMC | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
For UMC
Brock Reller – 2-3, 2 RBI, 3 runs, 2 walks
Mason Ruhlman – 2-3, 2 RBI, 2 runs
