MILES CITY, Mont. - The University of Minnesota Crookston took on Dickinson State University in Miles City, Mont. on a Saturday afternoon in the third game over the five-game series. The Golden Eagles soared by the Blue Hawks by the score of 10-4. With the win, the UMC's team moves to a 3-4 record on the young 2015 season, surpassing their win total over the previous two seasons. They will pick up right where they left off, seeing DSU two more times on Sunday before flying south for the six-game spring training in Clearwater, Fla.

As you may have guessed, the pillars of the offensive support were red-hot Ethan Mushitz (Fr., IF, East Grand Forks, Minn./Criminal Justice), who had a nearly identical day as Ryan Haggstrom (Jr., 1B/P, Apple Valley, Minn./Criminal Justice). They both swung a 3-for-5 bat on the cold, around 16 F game-time day, each bringing in 3 RBIs apiece. Colton Haight (Jr., C, Buffalo, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) continued his hitting ways as well, chipping in with a 2-for-3 attempt at the plate. Seven out of the nine hitters in the starting line-up having hits suggest an all-around team effort, including Thomas Kinsella's (Jr., IF, North Branch, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) 2-run home run in the fifth.
 
Same could be said about the pitching staff as well. Coach Gust's team started off slow, but warmed up to the task at hand and handled their business well. Even though Jarad Nelson's (Jr., RHP, Karlstad, Minn./Education) start mimicked the overall theme of the game in the first three innings, allowing four earned runs early in the ballgame and the score being 4-1 after three complete, UMC did not fold and turned the odds in their favor. Nelson settled in, and the Golden Eagles began their hunt in the batter's box. In the course of the fourth through seventh inning, UMC saw nine of their runs cross the plate, and after top of the seventh, the score remained unchanged, 10-4 for the Minnesotans.
 
When Nelson ran out of gas, Alan Frank (Sr., LHP, St. Michael, Minn./Applied Studies) was there to seal the deal, going into the bottom of the eighth inning, pitching two scoreless in relief.
 
In the first inning, the Golden Eagles only sent three hitters to the plate. Dickinson, however, had their inning go differently. With two outs, Seiler's double scored two for the Blue Hawks, 2-0 DSU. The answer from UMC came in the top of the third. Things started off with Dalton Parks (Jr., OF, West Valley City, Utah/Sports and Rec Management) doubling to shallow left field. That's when the well-hitting freshman Mushitz took matters into his own hands, singling to right and brining in Parks for UMC's first run.
 
Dickinson State found a way to answer that run right away, in the bottom of that frame a combination of a hit-by-pitch and a single put two runners on. Another single then loaded the bases, giving Hollingsworth a chance for some RBIs, and he took it. Two Dickinson runs crossed the plate after his 2 RBI single.
 
That was all the Blue Hawks were able to accomplish, and from that point forward, it was all about the Golden Eagles. Top of the fourth brought in one run, when Parks' hit-by-pitch with bases loaded meant Kinsella crossed home for UMC's second run.
 
Haggstrom was the one to lead the offensive run in the fifth, doubling to left field to lead off the inning. With one man out, Kinsella dug into the batter's box and took the first pitch of that at-bat over the left field fence, tying the game up at 4. The go-ahead run for the University of Minnesota Crookston scored in top of the sixth. Mushitz's one-out single followed by Haggstrom's RBI single sent Parks home.
 
The big inning was the seventh one for the Golden Eagles. The one-out rally began with Haight's double to deep right-center, followed by Patrick Higgins' single. David Anaya came through with a single of his own, sending Haight home, 6-4 UMC. One out later, Parks reached on a walk, loading the bases for Mushitz, who collected two more RBIs, 8-4 UMC. With Parks and Mushitz on the bases, Haggstrom found a gap in the right-center field, plating the last two runs of the ballgame.
 
With Frank's scoreless relief, the University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles secured their third victory on the year, and will try to secure the series win as well with tomorrow's double-header against Dickinson. Game 1 starts at 11 a.m.
 
Head coach Steve Gust and his squad will pack their bags and fly to Clearwater, Fla., for their six-game spring training before beginning the NSIC play on March 21^st against Concordia-St.Paul.
 
 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).
-30-