Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 MINNEAPOLIS– The University of Minnesota, Crookston baseball team dropped a pair of non-conference games Tues., Feb. 19 against Valley City State University at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. The Golden Eagles fall to 0-6 on the season with the pair of losses to the Vikings. Valley City State improves to 2-4 overall with the wins.

UMC fell 8-2 in the opening game of the doubleheader. Richie Navratil (So., P, Blansko, Czech Republic) got the start on the mound for the Golden Eagles. Navratil would go two-and-two-thirds innings giving up three earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts on the game.

UMC was led at the plate by Jeremiah Friday (So., C/1B/3B, Rush City, Minn.), who was 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored for the game. UMC also got hits in the first game from Matt Korte (Jr., P/IF, St. Cloud, Minn.), Josh Brehmer (Jr., 2B/SS, Roseville, Minn.), J.C. Crane (Sr., C/OF, Tucson, Ariz.), Kameron Crandall (R-Fr., P/IF/OF, Zimmerman, Minn.) and Tony Madsen (Jr., IF, Mounds View, Minn.).

The Golden Eagles started out the scoring in the top of the second when Crandall tripled to right field to score Friday, who had singled to left field to make the score 1-0 in favor of UMC.

The Vikings responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the second beginning with a Josiah Churchill single to left center to plate Cole Honl. Valley City State went ahead 2-1 in the inning after a Preston Jensen double plated pinch runner Robert Wiley.

The Vikings added two more runs in the bottom of the third after Churchill singled to score Joey Demers. The lead was extended to 4-1 after Mike Gershman reached on an error on a pop-up, scoring Thomas Houdek. UMC pitcher Navratil was pulled in favor of Jon Mittag (Jr., P, Glenville, Minn.), who got the last out of the inning.

Mittag shutout the Vikings in the fourth and fifth innings allowing the Golden Eagles to make a comeback big in the top of the sixth but UMC would get one run after having three base runners in the inning. The lone run came as Friday singled to center to score Jordan Prill (Sr., 1B/OF/P, Melrose, Minn.).
Valley City State was able to put some distance between them and the Golden Eagles as they would plate four runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it 8-2. Colin Waldnor reached on an error allowing Mike Gershman to score. Scott Stephenson doubled to left field to score Waldnor to make it 6-2. The lead was extended to 7-2 after Brenden Shearer tripled to plate Stephenson. The final run of the inning came as Honl singled to score Shearer. Ryan Haggstrom (Fr., P/UT, Apple Valley, Minn.) came in relief late in the inning and struck out two batters and had only one hit off of him.

Navratil moved to 0-1 with the loss for the Golden Eagles while Ronnie Blagg got the win for Valley City State after going six innings while giving up seven hits and two earned runs. Blagg had seven strikeouts.

Ryan Paasch (Jr., P, Sauk Rapids, Minn.) got the start for UMC in the second game and would go three innings while giving up three hits and two earned runs.

The Vikings would take an early 2-0 advantage in the top of the second as Jensen singled up the middle to plate Gershman and Churchill.

UMC reliever Adrian Romo (Sr., P, Douglas, Ariz.) came in the top of the fourth for Paasch and would struggle on the mound giving up four hits, six runs (four of them earned). All four runs off Romo would come in the fourth inning to extend the Vikings lead to 6-0.

Crandall came in relief of Romo in the fifth inning where one of the runners Romo put on would score to make it 7-0. Crandall would go two-and-a-third innings giving up two hits and four earned runs as the Vikings would plate three runs in the seventh.

Trevor Buttermore (Fr., P, North St. Paul, Minn.) would be the final pitcher used by the Golden Eagles. He went two-thirds of an inning giving up just one hit and no runs.

The Golden Eagle bats were stymied by Ryan Shaw on the mound as the Viking pitcher would give up only two hits on the night with three strikeouts in six innings pitched to earn the win. UMC would finish the night with three hits as Brehmer, Crane and Mario Del Greco (Fr., C/UT, Eveleth, Minn.) all got on base.

Paasch was credited with the loss for UMC in game two.

The Golden Eagles will return to the Metrodome Feb. 27 for a non-conference doubleheader against Mayville State University beginning at 9:45 p.m.
For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics Web site at www.goldeneaglesports.com.

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The University of Minnesota, Crookston is an NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).