CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball team fell 8-4 to NCAA Division I foe South Dakota State University Wed., March 8 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. The Golden Eagles stayed in the fray after giving up four runs in the bottom of the first led by the bat of Anthony Stewart (R-Jr., OF, Oak Harbor, Wash.), who was 4-of-5 with three runs scored on the day.

Minnesota Crookston moves to 3-3 with the loss on Wednesday. South Dakota State improved to 5-5 on the season. The Golden Eagles finish their games at U.S. Bank Stadium with a record of 3-3 as they head into their contests at the Clearwater Invitational in Clearwater, Fla.

Wednesday's game was played during the morning with first pitch starting at 7 a.m.

The Golden Eagles gave the ball to Jacob Butcher (R-Jr., RHP, Palmer, Alaska) for the start. Butcher would rebound after his first inning struggles. Butcher went 3.2 innings with five earned runs on eight hits with three walks given up.

Minnesota Crookston would jump on the board in the bottom of the first. Stewart would lead off the inning with a ground-rule double to put the Golden Eagles in strong position. Stewart would score on a throwing error by South Dakota State pitcher Tyler Olmstead.

South Dakota State would take the lead in the bottom of the first as Butcher struggled out of the gate. The Jackrabbits would score their first run as Newt Johnson hit a three-run home run to quickly make it 3-1. SDSU would extend their advantage to 4-1 when Matt Johnson scored on a Skyler Wenninger ground out.

The Jackrabbits extended their lead to 5-1 in the bottom of the third as Philip Jacobson singled up the middle to drive in Wenninger.

Minnesota Crookston would cut the lead to 5-2 in the top of the first when Reed Hjelle (So., 1B, East Grand Forks, Minn.) singled to drive in Stewart, who had hit a bunt single earlier in the frame.

The Golden Eagles would inch closer in the seventh as they cut the lead to 5-3. Stewart would again set the U of M Crookston up for success with a lead-off single. He would steal third and come across on a throwing error by the catcher. However, that would be all UMC would do in the frame.

The Jackrabbits responded with a three-run seventh inning off of Minnesota Crookston relievers Aaron Hollcraft (So., LHP, Crookston, Minn.) and Wyatt Huso (R-Jr., RHP, Eagan, Minn.). South Dakota State opened up the inning with a solo home run from Matt Johnson to help chase Hollcraft. Anthony Schneider would extend the lead to 7-3 as he scored on a wild pitch. The Jackrabbits would make it 8-3 when Nick Smith put down a bunt single, allowing Wenninger to score. Matthew Dallas (Sr., RHP, Boise, Idaho) would be able to pitch the Golden Eagles out of any further danger.

The Golden Eagles would threaten in the top of the eighth as they looked for the comeback. Minnesota Crookston led off the inning with back-to-back doubles from Mitchell Bornhauser (Jr., OF, Northfield, Minn.) and Riley Thompson (Jr., OF, Owatonna, Minn.). Bornhauser would come in to score on Thompson's double. The U of M Crookston would however be unable to do any further damage as South Dakota State pitched out of the inning.

In addition to Stewart, Hjelle went 1-of-4 with one RBI. Bornhauser would go 1-of-3 with one RBI. Zach Frazier (R-Jr., C, Grand Rapids, Minn.) was also 1-of-4 for the game.

On the mound, the Golden Eagles got another strong relief performance from Jayden Grover (Fr., RHP, Cooperstown, N.D.), who would give up just two hits in 1.2 innings pitched. Dallas also had a strong appearance as he allowed just one hit and struck out one in 0.2 innings pitched. Cayden Barta (Sr., RHP, Fargo, N.D.) would mow down the Jackrabbits in order in his inning.

The win for South Dakota State went to Olmstead, who gave up one earned run on six hits with seven strikeouts.

The Jackrabbits would led at the plate by Smith, who was 4-of-5 with one RBI and one run scored. Newt Johnson would finish 2-of-5 with three RBI's and one run scored.

Minnesota Crookston will open up play at the Clearwater Invitational March 9 at 1 p.m. against the University of Missouri-St. Louis at Jack Russell Stadium, the former Spring Training home of the Philadelphia Phillies.