CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball program will hit the road for an important NSIC mid-week showdown with University of Minnesota Duluth Wed., April 20 at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. The Golden Eagles enter Wednesday in fourth place in the NSIC standings, while the Bulldogs are in second place in the conference standings.
Minnesota Crookston has had a great season thus far with an 18-11 (11-4 NSIC) mark. They have surpassed 10 wins in conference play for the first time in school history and are on the verge of breaking the 20 win mark for the first time in school history. This is just two years removed from back-to-back one-win seasons.
The Golden Eagles enter Wednesday with a .315 batting average on the season. UMC has been led on the season by the bat of
Kenny Perez (Sr., DH/1B, Orlando, Fla.), who has given pitchers fits this season. The 5-6 250 pound slugger has mashed seven home runs and leads the team with 34 RBI's.
Ryan Haggstrom (Sr., 1B/RHP, Apple Valley, Minn.) has also had a great year at the plate for the Golden Eagles. The senior is hitting .409 for the season with a team-high 32 runs scored. He also hit three home runs and has 28 RBI's on the year.
In addition to the pair of seniors,
Reed Hjelle (Fr., OF/1B, East Grand Forks, Minn.) has given the Golden Eagles an impact freshman. Hjelle is batting .406 for the year with 28 runs scored, a team-high 11 doubles and 25 RBI's on the year.
On the mound, UMC has been led by a pair of seniors.
Nolan Wahlberg (Sr., RHP, Blaine, Minn.) is the conference leader in wins with a 7-1 mark. He is also leading the NSIC in innings pitched with 59. Wahlberg has posted a 4.58 ERA on the year.
Jarad Nelson (Sr., RHP, Karlstad, Minn.) comes in with a 4-1 mark and a 4.98 ERA in 43.1 innings pitched on the season.
Minnesota Duluth comes in with a 21-9 mark and a 14-4 mark in NSIC play. The Bulldogs are one the top hitting teams in the league with a .363 batting average. Alex Wojciechowski is one of the best hitters in the league with a .460 batting average with 20 home runs, 60 RBI's and 47 runs scored. Jimmy Heck has also had a great season for the Bulldogs with a .465 average, 34 runs scored, seven doubles, 12 home runs and 44 RBI's.
On the mound, the Bulldogs have been led on the season by Spencer Diedrich, who is 2-0 with a 2.30 ERA in 15.2 innings pitched, while Bo Hellquist is 5-1 with a 4.68 ERA in 32.2 innings pitched.
