CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball team struggled to get their bats going as they fell 9-0 and 12-2 to No. 5 St. Cloud State University Sat., April 20 at the UMC Baseball Field in Crookston, Minn.
Minnesota Crookston took one of three from the Huskies in the series. The Golden Eagles took a victory in the series for the first time since 2009 and their win Friday as the first over a ranked opponent since 2016.

The Golden Eagles fall to 21-16 (14-9 NSIC) with Saturday's losses. Minnesota Crookston remains in sixth place as they look to make the final push toward the NSIC Tournament, which takes the top eight teams. The Golden Eagles are looking to make it back to St. Cloud, Minn., for the third time in four seasons. Minnesota Crookston needs just four wins to tie their school record for wins and conference wins set during the 2016 campaign. The Golden Eagles have 10 games remaining in the regular-season with five games on the road and five games at home.

St. Cloud State improves to 31-7 (19-5 NSIC) with the sweep on Saturday. The Huskies are currently in second in the NSIC standings.

Game One
The Golden Eagles struggled to hit St. Cloud State starter Blake Flint, who had a perfect game going for the first three innings. Griffin Fussy (R-So., SS, Ham Lake, Minn.) broke up the perfect game, but Minnesota Crookston was unable to get much going offensively as they were blanked 9-0 in the opening game.

Flint moved to 6-1 with the win for the Huskies after tossing a five inning one-hitter with nine strikeouts and no walks.

Jayden Grover (Jr., RHP, Cooperstown, N.D.) had strong moments Saturday, but ultimately lost to move to 4-3. Grover tossed 4.1 innings and gave up five earned runs on nine hits with seven strikeouts and one walk.

Tyler Hegg (Fr., RHP, Thompson, N.D.) came on and went 0.2 innings and gave up no runs on one hit. Henry Pesch (Jr., RHP, Minneota, Minn.) came on in relief and allowed just one run on two hits in one inning, while Matt Nelson (Fr., RHP, Afton, Minn.) threw one shutout frame with no hits allowed.

The Golden Eagles were led by Fussy, who was 1-of-2, while Hunter Baldwin (Sr., 1B/3B, St. Thomas, N.D.) was 1-of-1 to account for Minnesota Crookston's second hit of the game.

The Huskies were propelled by Jordan Joseph, who was 3-of-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Matt Quade went 2-of-3 with an RBI and a run scored, while Caeden Harris was 2-of-4 with two runs scored. Toran Shahidi finished 1-of-3 with three RBIs.

St. Cloud State started out quickly as they got four runs in the first inning. Minnesota Crookston looked to get out of the inning quickly. However, a single by Harris that fell in between first and second base, that could have been the third out, prolonged the inning. The Huskies got their first run when Matthew Meyer singled to drive in Najee Gaskins. Joseph then came through with a two RBI single to right field to plate Harris and Meyer and extend the lead to 3-0. Quade rounded out the inning with a double down the line to score Joseph and push the advantage to 4-0.

Minnesota Crookston kept the game within 4-0 until a big inning in the top of the fifth. In the first at-bat, Mitch Mallek hit a solo shot over the fence in right center to widen the gap to 5-0. With the bases loaded, Shahidi delivered a bases clearing triple to right field to drive in Quade, Joseph and Meyer and push the lead to 8-0.

St. Cloud State extended their advantage to 9-0 in the top of the sixth when Joseph doubled to right center to plate Harris.

Minnesota Crookston was unable to breakthrough, as they fell 9-0 to the Huskies in the first game.

Game Two
The Huskies utilized a six-run top of the sixth as they run-ruled Minnesota Crookston in eight innings 12-2.

Sheldon Miks got the win for St. Cloud State after throwing six innings and giving up just two runs on five hits with eight strikeouts and no walks. Riley Ahern and Matt Butler each tossed scoreless innings in relief.

Conner Richardson (Fr., RHP, Grand Forks, N.D.) got the start and suffered the loss after giving up five runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings of work. Aaron Hollcraft (Sr., LHP, Crookston, Minn.) allowed two earned runs on two hits in an inning of relief. Louis Gerzin (Sr., RHP, Ely, Minn.) allowed three unearned runs on four walks in 0.2 innings for Minnesota Crookston. Esten Beneda (R-Jr., RHP, Lankin, N.D>) was strong in his one inning as he shutdown the Huskies and put a zero up on the board. Garrett Hohn (Jr., RHP, Wausau, Wis.) allowed one run on two hits in his one inning of relief.

Minnesota Crookston was propelled by Scott Finberg (Jr., 3B, Stillwater, Minn.), who was 1-of-3 with one RBI. Fussy finished 1-of-4 with an RBI, while Jonathan Lund (Sr., 1B/3B, Tolna, N.D.) and Mason Ruhlman (Jr., 2B, Algonac, Mich.) also went 1-of-3.

The Huskies were lifted by Gaskins at the top of their order. He went 3-of-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Joseph continued his big day by going 3-of-5 with two RBIs and a run scored, while Mallek was 1-of-3 with two RBIs and one run scored.

St. Cloud State opened up their scoring in the first as Mallek hit a sacrifice fly to right to drive in Gaskins.

In the second frame, Shahidi doubled through the left side to plate Dylan Haskamp and move the lead to 2-0. Later in the second, Gaskins powered one over the left field fence to plate himself and Shahidi and push the lead out to 4-0.
The Huskies moved their advantage out to 5-0 in the fourth when Meyer doubled to right center to drive in Mallek.

Minnesota Crookston made a dent in the lead in the fourth when Ben Thoma (So., C/SS, Clearbrook, Minn.) hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Fussy. Later in the stanza, Finberg singled through the left side to score Brock Reller (So., OF, Grand Forks, N.D.).

Just when the Golden Eagles looked to be in a good spot, St. Cloud State broke through with a big inning. The Huskies moved their lead out to 6-2 in the sixth with a Joseph triple to right center to score Gaskins. Mallek then singled to plate Joseph to push the advantage to 7-2.

Minnesota Crookston then ran into control issues as they walked in three straight runs with the bases loaded to widen the gap to 10-2. The Huskies rounded out the sixth with a final run as Shahidi scored on a wild pitch.
St. Cloud State pushed their final run of the game across the plate as Shahidi scored on a Joseph sacrifice fly as the Huskies won 12-2 when the game was called after the eighth due to run-rule.

Minnesota Crookston hit the road Wed., April 24 to take on Northern State University at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m., in Aberdeen, S.D. The Wolves currently sit one spot behind the Golden Eagles in seventh frame.