Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb.- The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball team fell 6-0 and 10-7 to the University of Sioux Falls in their Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) openers at Voss Field in South Sioux City, Neb. The games were originally scheduled to be played in Sioux Falls, S.D. but were moved to a neutral site in South Sioux City, Neb. due to a better weather forecast in South Sioux City than in Sioux Falls.

The Golden Eagles battled hard in both games and even held a 7-4 lead over the Cougars going into the bottom of the seventh inning but USF would tally four runs in the bottom of the seventh in order to pick up the win.

The Golden Eagles fall to 1-13 (0-2 NSIC) with the pair of losses Sunday. Sioux Falls moves to 8-7 (2-0 NSIC) with the pair of conference victories Sunday.

In game one, Richie Navratil (Sr., P, Blansko, Czech Republic/Sports and Rec Management) got the start for Minnesota Crookston and would go six innings giving up six earned runs on 10 hits in the loss.

The win for Sioux Falls went to Derek Fischer, who pitched seven innings of shutout baseball, giving up just five hits and striking out seven.

The Cougars first got on the board in game one in the bottom of the first as Trevor Crow singled up the middle to score Ryan Forbes, who had walked.

Sioux Falls would add a run to their lead in the bottom of the second when a Dylan Dwyer sacrifice fly plated Austin Goodenow, who had led off the inning with a double.

Two more runs would cross for Sioux Falls in the bottom of the third. Crow came through again, this time with a triple to score  Forbes, who had singled. Crow would then cross on a groundout to make it 4-0.

The Cougars would tally two more runs in the fourth inning to make it 6-0. Navratil would shut down the Cougars in the fifth and sixth innings to keep them at bay, but unfortunately Golden Eagles would be unable to put anything together in game one as they fell 6-0.

UMC was led in the first game by Jesse Jennings (Jr., OF, Robbinsdale, Minn./Criminal Justice), who was 2-of-3.

Jon Mittag (Sr., P, Glenville, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) got the start in game two for Minnesota Crookston. Mittag would go six innings giving up six earned runs on 11 hits as he suffered the loss.

The win for USF went to Varner who came on to face five batters in relief. JeremyVarner would go one inning, allowing one run to score on two hits.

The Golden Eagles started off the scoring game two in the top of the second. UMC quickly loaded the bases as Colton Haight (So., C, Buffalo, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) reached on an error, quickly followed by a Marcus Campbell (So., OF/P, St. Croix Falls, Wis./Golf and Turf Management) walk and a Tony Madsen (Sr., 2B/SS, Mounds View, Minn./Natural Resources Management) single. Haight would score on a passed ball to make it 1-0. A Josh Brehmer (Sr., SS/2B, Falcon Heights, Minn./Communications) single would drive in Campbell and Madsen to give the Golden Eagles the quick 3-0 advantage.

Sioux Falls would get a run in the bottom of the second as a Lopez single drove in Dwyer. The Cougars would add another run in the bottom of the fifth as Crow singled to drive in Forbes.

The Golden Eagles would extend their lead to 4-2 in the top of the sixth when Travis Magdzas (Jr., OF, Duluth, Minn./Criminal Justice) scored on a groundout after reaching base on a walk.

Sioux Falls would respond with a big inning off Mittag in the bottom of the sixth as four runs came across to give the Cougars the 6-4 lead.  

UMC would take the lead back in the top of the seventh with three runs on two hits off Elijah Thornquist. Brehmer reached base on an error by the second basemen to start off the inning. Matt Korte (Sr., P/3B, St. Cloud, Minn./Accounting) would then get on with an error by the right fielder to give the Golden Eagles two base-runners. Sioux Falls would then bring Varner on to relieve Thornquist. A Ryan Haggstrom (So., C/1B/P, Apple Valley, Minn./Accounting) single off of Varner would plate Korte and Brehmer. Haggstrom would score to make it 7-6 following a Haight single.

However four more runs for Sioux Falls and an inability to answer would give the win to Cougars despite a hard-fought contest for Minnesota Crookston.

UMC had seven runs on nine hits in game two. Haggstrom led the way going 3-of-5 with two RBI's and one run scored. Haight led the way going 2-of-3 with one run scored.

Noah Durkin led the way for Sioux Falls going 2-of-5 with two runs scored and four RBI's. Forbes was 3-of-4 while Crow was 4-of-5 with two RBI's.

The Golden Eagles and Cougars will finish their series at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Voss Field in South Sioux City, Neb. Mon. March 24.

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at www.goldeneaglesports.com.

Follow the Golden Eagles on Facebook at Golden Eagle Sports and on Twitter at @UMCAthletics.

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).