CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball team will take on Southwest Minnesota State University Fri., May 5 and Sat., May 6 at Alumni Field in Marshall, Minn. The Golden Eagles and Mustangs will hit the field at 1 p.m. Friday for a doubleheader and 12 p.m. Saturday for a doubleheader.

Minnesota Crookston at Southwest Minnesota State
Fri., March 5, 1/3 p.m., Alumni Field, Marshall, Minn.
Live Stats - http://sidearmstats.com/smsu/baseball/
Sat., March 6 , 12/2 p.m., Alumni Field, Marshall, Minn.
Live Stats - http://sidearmstats.com/smsu/baseball/

Minnesota Crookston
Projected Around The Horn
R-Jr. C 7 Zach Frazier, .149 avg., 11 runs, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 15 RBI's
So. 1B 33 Reed Hjelle, .341 avg., 30 runs, 7 doubles, 4 triples, 24 RBI's
Sr. 2B 2 Patrick Amerson, .308 avg., 7 runs, 3 doubles, 6 RBI's
Sr. 3B 26 David Olson, .230 avg., 8 runs, 2 doubles, 7 RBI's
Jr. SS 27 Ethan Mushitz, .269 avg., 19 runs, 1 0doubles, 3 triples, 2 HR's, 28 RBI's
Jr. LF 5 James Cullinane, .256 avg., 23 runs, 3 doubles, 2 triples, 12 RBI's
R-Jr. CF 1 Anthony Stewart, .328 avg., 44 runs, 7 doubles, 3 triples, 5 HR's, 30 RBI's
Jr. RF 8 Scott Mortenson, .263 avg., 12 runs, 1 double, 8 RBI's
or Jr. RF 20 Mitchell Bornhauser, .214 avg., 14 runs, 5 doubles, 1 HR, 9 RBI's
Sr. DH 42 Brandon Kresl, .286 avg., 2 runs, 1 double, 4 RBI's
or Sr. DH 11 Patrick Higgins, .240 avg., 6 runs, 9 RBI's

Top Starting Pitchers
Sr. RHP 34 Cody Pamperin, 1-5 3.03 ERA, 65.1 IP, 47 K's, 18 BB's
Fr. RHP 18 Justin Yutrzenka, 4-2 3.99 ERA, 58.2 IP, 36 K's, 19 BB's

Top Relief Pitchers
So. RHP 21 Zach Seipel, 1-4 2.78 ERA, 35.2 IP, 10 saves, 49 K's, 20 BB's
Fr. RHP 35 Jayden Grover, 1-0 5.33 ERA, 27.0 IP, 24 K's, 9 BB's

Southwest Minnesota State
Projected Around The Horn
Sr. C 28 Kody Larson, .278 avg., 5 runs, 2 doubles, 8 RBI's
or Fr. C 7 Derek Smith, .325 avg., 8 runs, 4 RBI's
Jr. 1B 24 Shane Sellner, .285 avg., 13 runs, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 1 HR, 21 RBI's
Jr. 2B 6 Cole VanderBeek, .350 avg., 19 runs, 7 doubles, 2 triples, 21 RBI's
So. 3B 12 Jayden Fleck, .236 avg., 25 runs, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 2 HR's, 12 RBI's
Fr. SS 10 Tanner Strommen, .288 avg., 15 runs, 6 doubles, 11 RBI's
Jr. LF 14 Liam Lopez, .262 avg., 20 runs, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 3 HR's, 14 RBI's
Sr. CF 11 Derek Branson, .295 avg., 23 runs, 9 doubles, 1 triple, 3 HR's, 23 RBI's
Fr. RF 37 Ben Heichel, .250 avg., 7 runs, 2 doubles, 2 RBI's
Fr. DH 34 Brady Lanoue, .267 avg., 14 runs, 4 doubles, 13 RBI's

Top Starting Pitchers
So. LHP 36 Cole Peterson, 5-2 1.53 ERA, 47.0 IP, 27 K's, 18 BB's
So. RHP 15 Justin Clark, 1-6 4.63 ERA, 44.1 IP, 41 K's, 18 BB's

Top Relief Pitchers
So. RHP 19 Shawn Williams, 2-2 2.30 ERA, 27.1 IP, 16 K's, 18 BB's
Sr. RHP 32 Davis Bryan, 0-3 5.92 ERA, 24.1 IP, 15 K's, 9 BB's

Minnesota Crookston enters the weekend with a 22-24 (16-18 NSIC) mark. The Golden Eagles are coming off of a four-game sweep of University of Minnesota Duluth last weekend. After the performance last weekend, the U of M Crookston is sitting in eighth place in the conference standings. The Golden Eagles are currently playing for position in the conference tournament.

If Minnesota Crookston wins three games or more they will guarantee their spot in the playoffs. The Golden Eagles would earn the eighth seed even if Northern State University swept University of Minnesota Duluth and University of Sioux Falls swept Wayne State College. With three wins over Southwest Minnesota State and four wins for Northern State, the Wolves would take the No. 7 seed and the Golden Eagles would take the No. 8 seed with UMD dropping out of the playoffs. Sioux Falls would still fall short of the playoffs. A split for the Golden Eagles would make it more interesting as University of Sioux Falls, Northern State University and Winona State University could all surpass Minnesota Crookston. 

The Golden Eagles have been led on the season by Reed Hjelle (So., 1B, East Grand Forks, Minn.), who is hitting .341 on the season with 30 runs scored and 24 RBI's. Anthony Stewart (R-Jr., OF, Oak Harbor, Wash.) has also had a strong season as he has been one of the best lead-off hitters in the NSIC in 2017. Stewart is batting .328 on the year with a team-leading 44 runs scored, five home runs and 59 RBI's.

Senior Patrick Amerson (IF, Eloy, Ariz.) has found his way into the lineup at second base with his bat. Amerson is hitting .308 on the season with seven run scored and six RBI's. Ethan Mushitz (Jr., SS, East Grand Forks, Minn.) has also been performing well in recent weeks. Mushitz is batting .269 with 19 runs scored and 28 RBI's. Mushitz had a walk-off single on Sunday to help Minnesota Crookston sweep Minnesota Duluth.

On the bump, the Golden Eagles have looked to Zach Seipel (So., RHP, Eagan, Minn.), who has been the top closer in the league in 2017. Seipel is 1-4 with a 2.78 ERA with a league-leading 10 saves in 35.2 innings pitched. The starting rotation has been led by Cody Pamperin (Sr., RHP, Shakopee, Minn.), who owns a 3.03 ERA in 65.1 innings pitched, while Justin Yutrzenka (Fr., RHP, Argyle, Minn.) is 4-2 with a 3.99 ERA in 58.2 innings pitched.

Southwest Minnesota State enters the weekend with a 13-31 (8-26 NSIC) mark on the season. The Mustangs have a young roster with four of nine of their starters in their batting order being sophomores or younger. The Mustangs have just one senior in their starting line-up in outfielder Derek Branson. In their starting rotation, four of six Southwest Minnesota State pitchers are sophomores or younger.

The Mustangs are hitting .269 as a team on the year. Southwest Minnesota State is led by Cole VanderBeek, who is batting .350 with 19 runs scored and 21 RBI's. Branson comes in batting .295 with 23 runs scored, three home runs and 23 RBI's.

On the bump, Cole Peterson leads the way with a 5-2 mark and a 1.53 ERA in 47.0 innings pitched. Justin Clark is 1-6 with a 4.63 ERA in 44.2 innings pitched. Out of the bullpen, Southwest Minnesota State looks to Shawn Williams, who is 2-2 with a 2.30 ERA in 27.1 innings pitched.

The match-up between Minnesota Crookston and Southwest Minnesota State University marks the first time since April of 2014 that the two have competed on the baseball diamond. This will be the first time Coach Steve Gust will lead the Golden Eagles against the Mustangs.