Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 MINNEAPOLIS – Tough first innings in both games Wednesday night provided setbacks for the University of Minnesota, Crookston baseball team in both games of a doubleheader against Mayville State University. The Golden Eagles gave up three runs in first inning of game one of the late night doubleheader at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and were unable to comeback as they fell 5-1. In game two, UMC gave up eight runs in the first inning and would only give up one run the rest of the way as they out-scored the Comets 3-1 the rest of the game but ultimately fell 9-3.
 
Wednesday's games began at 9:45 p.m. and concluded shortly before 1:40 Thursday morning. The Golden Eagles fall to 0-8 on the season while Mayville State improves to 4-0.
 
Matt Korte (Jr, P/IF/OF, St. Cloud, Minn.) got the start on the mound for game one for UMC. Korte would struggle with control in the first inning giving up three runs on one hit giving up one walk and hitting two batters. Korte would recover to give up two runs on four hits in five innings pitched.
 
The scoring started for Mayville State when Dillon Lundin doubled to right center to clear the bases after Korte had walked Bryan Jacklitch and hit both Phillip Steer and Kurtis McCallum. The double would make it 3-0 in favor of Mayville State. Korte was able to pitch his way out of the inning.
 
The Comets added one run in the top of the second after Jacklitch hit an infield single to plate Spencer Mallonee and make it 4-0 Mayville State.
 
The Comets would make it 5-0 in the top of the third after McCallum scored following a Lundin ground out to short stop. McCallum reached base on a double to left center.
 
UMC would finally get the bats going in the bottom of the fourth after Mayville State pulled started Victor Sokolofsky after he gave up only one hit in three innings with four strikeouts. Alex Brockpahler came on in relief for the Comets. The Golden Eagles bats got going as Jordan Prill (Sr., 1B/OF/P, Melrose, Minn.) crushed the ball to left center and made a triple out of the play. Brockpahler walked J.C. Crane (Sr., C/OF/P, Tucson, Ariz.) in the next at-bat. Kameron Crandall (R-Fr., IF/P, Zimmerman, Minn.), who came into the game responsible for three RBI's on nine runs scored this season, came through again as he singled to right field to plate Prill and make it 5-1 Mayville State. The Golden Eagles would load the bases after Brockpahler walked Colton Haight (Fr., C/1B/OF, Rogers, Minn.). Aaron Dick would then come in relief for the Comets and strikeout Nathan Linstad (Fr., P/UT, Inkster, N.D.), leaving three ducks on the pond for UMC.
 
Korte would give up only one hit and no runs in the fourth and fifth innings on the bump for the Golden Eagles before Ryan Haggstrom (Fr., C/1B/P, Apple Valley, Minn.) came on in relief in the top of the sixth. Haggstrom would shutout the Comets in his two innings on the mound giving up no hits, two walks and two strikeouts.
 
Korte would suffer the loss in the game moving to 0-2 on the season while Sokolofsky would pick up the win for Mayville State.
 
UMC would finish the game with six hits. They were led by Josh Brehmer (Jr., 2B/SS, Roseville, Minn.), who was 2-for-4 and Prill, who went 2-for-3 with one run scored. Mayville State was paced by Lundin, who went 1-for-4 with four RBI. Mallonee was 2-for-3 for the game with one run scored.
 
Jon Mittag (Jr., P, Glenville Minn.) would get the start in game two for the Golden Eagles. Mittag's story would be similar to Korte as he struggled in the first inning. Mittag would give up eight runs on six hits with two errors in two-thirds of an inning.
 
Mayville State started out the scoring as McCallum hit a pop up to left field where Haggstrom was unable to see the ball in the lights, misjudging it and allowing the ball to drop. Jacklitch, who reached on an infield single, and Steer, who was hit by a pitch, would score. Spencer Kidder would also score as Haight overthrew the third baseman after trying to throw Kidder out after he was trying to advance to third on McCallum's hit.
 
The Comets would make it 4-0 as Lundin singled to left field on a similar play as Haggstrom was again unable to see the ball in the lights. McCallum would score on the play.
 
Lundin would score as Johnny Pistulka hit a sacrifice fly to right field to make it 5-0. After loading bases following a walk and two singles, Steer, batting for the second time in the inning, hit a single to left field to score Thielen and Christian Berry and make it 7-0.
 
Crane would then come in relief of Mittag. The Comets would put one more run on the scoreboard as Jacklitch scored on an error by Haight, as he overthrew the second baseman after attempting to throw out Steer on a steal attempt. Crane would get Kidder to ground out to get out of the inning with Mayville State leading 8-0.
 
The Comets would add one run on three hits in the bottom of the second after McCallum hit a home run to left field. Pistulka singled, as did Berry, but Crane would get out of the inning. The would be the most Mayville State would hit Crane the rest of the game as he would give up one hit and no runs in the next three innings on the mound for the Golden Eagles putting on perhaps the strongest pitching performance of the season thus far for UMC. Crane would go four-and-a-third inning, giving up four hits, one earned run and striking out four batters.
 
UMC would add two runs in the top of the fourth to cut the deficit to 9-2. Cesar Espinoza (Sr., 1B, Tucson, Ariz.) started out the scoring as he got his first hit in the Maroon and Gold with a triple to left center to score Korte, who had doubled to right field. Espinoza would score on a Haggstrom ground out to first base.
 
The Golden Eagles would add one run in the top of the fifth after Todd Leavitt relieved R.J. Page. With two outs, Leavitt walked both Brooks Miller (So., IF/OF/P, Moorhead, Minn.) and Jesse Jennings (So., IF/OF, Robbinsdale, Minn.). Crandall would single to left field for his fifth RBI on the year, scoring Jennings. Both Crandall and Miller would advance on a Leavitt wild pitch but the Mayville State pitcher would get out of the inning as he struck out Korte. The score would be Mayville State 9, UMC 3 heading into the bottom of the fifth.
 
Prill would relieve Crane in the sixth inning and give up one hit in one inning.
 
Mittag would suffer the loss for the Golden Eagles falling to 0-2 on the season. Scott Petry would get the win for Mayville State after going two innings, giving up no hits and no runs.
 
UMC had hits from Crandall, Korte, Espinoza, Haggstrom and Tony Madsen (Jr., IF, Mounds View, Minn.) on the game. Mayville State was paced by McCallum, who was 4-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI.
 
The Golden Eagles will now be off until March 15 when they will play their first game of their Spring Break road trek in Florida. UMC will play games against Upper Iowa University, Mansfield University and Florida Christian College in Clearwater, Fla., and Orlando, Fla., over the break.
 
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).
                                       
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