CLEARWATER, Fla.- The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball came away with another marathon win as they defeated Clearwater Christian College 25-17 Tuesday evening at Jack Russell Memorial Stadium in Clearwater, Fla. The Golden Eagles set a school record with the 25 runs on 22 hits.

The Golden Eagles head into conference play with a 6-9 mark in their first season under Head Coach Steve Gust. The Cougars fell to 0-15 with Wednesday night's loss.

UMC played a series of long games in Clearwater with three games that ran near or over four hours in their six games at Jack Russell Memorial Stadium.

Minnesota Crookston would start out the game with two runs in the bottom of the first as Haggstrom singled to score Ethan Mushitz (Fr., 2B/SS, East Grand Forks, Minn./Criminal Justice). A Perez single would then drive in Haggstrom.

Clearwater Christian would take the 4-2 lead in the third led by a Victor Monroig single to drive in Jake Reidy and Nic Martin.

The Golden Eagles would take the lead back 5-4 with three runs in the bottom of the third. After hitting a triple, Perez would score on a Colton Haight (Jr., C, Rogers, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) sacrifice fly. A David Anaya (So., 2B/SS, Tucson, Ariz./Health Science) double would then drive in Patrick Higgins (So., OF, Eagan, Minn./Criminal Justice). Mushitz would then single to plate Anaya.

The Golden Eagles would extend their advantage to 6-4 led by a Haight sacrifice fly to drive in Haggstrom.

The Cougars would come up with a big inning in the top of the fifth led by an Alex Milton three-run home run. Clearwater Christian would score six in the inning to make it 10-6.

UMC would answer with five runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth to make it 11-10.

The Cougars would bounce back with three runs to make it 13-11.

The Golden Eagles would respond big in the bottom of the fifth, batting 16 in the inning as they scored 12 runs led by four Clearwater Christian errors to make it 23-13.

Clearwater Christian would add four more runs in the game.
The Golden Eagles would add two more in the final innings led  by Mitchell Bornhauser's (Fr., OF, Northfield, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) first collegiate hit, an RBI double.

Minnesota Crookston was led on the day by Kenny Perez (Jr., DH/1B, Orlando, Fla./Health Science), who went 4-of-6 with three runs scored and three RBI's. Ryan Haggstrom (Jr., 1B/P, Apple Valley, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) went 4-of-5 with two RBI's and six runs scored. Mushitz was 3-of-6 with four runs scored and four RBI's and Haight was 3-of-4 with one run scored and five RBI's

Clearwater Christian was led by Reidy, who was 5-of-6 with three runs scored and one RBI. Milton was 3-of-4 with three runs scored and three RBI's.

Nolan Wahlberg (Jr., RHP, Blaine, Minn./Criminal Justice) secured the win after pitching 2.2 innings in relief and giving up three earned runs on six hits. Wahlberg moves to 3-1 on the season and ties the UMC wins record.

Luke Thoma (Jr., RHP, Little Falls, Minn./Natural Resources) started the game and went 4.1 innings, giving up seven earned runs on 11 hits.

Victor Monroig suffered the loss for Clearwater Christian after giving up 12 runs, four of them earned, on nine hits in 2.2 innings of relief.

The Golden Eagles hit very well over their Clearwater trip, hitting .397 as a team with 48 RBI's and 66 runs scored. UMC was led by Thomas Kinsella (Jr., IF, North Branch, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) with a .536 batting average, six runs scored and four RBI's. Perez hit .520 with five runs scored and eight RBI's. On the mound, Cody Pamperin (So., RHP, Shakopee, Minn./Golf and Turf Management) pitched 5.1 innings in relief and gave up just two earned runs on nine hits. Wahlberg pitched 11.2 innings and gave up five earned runs on 15 hits.

Minnesota Crookston will open up the NSIC season Saturday and Sunday against Concordia University-St. Paul at Barnes Field in St. Paul, Minn.

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).