MOORHEAD, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston allowed opportune hits as Northern State University picked up a sweep with a 4-3 loss in extra innings, and a 10-4 loss in seven innings. The Golden Eagles battled in both games, and held leads in both before succumbing to the Wolves in a doubleheader at Bucky Burgau Baseball Field in Moorhead, Minn. The games were relocated to Moorhead due to unplayable conditions in Aberdeen, S.D.

The Golden Eagles remain off to one of their best seasons in program history with a 21-18 (14-11 NSIC) mark. Minnesota Crookston remains in sixth place in the NSIC standings with eight NSIC games left in the regular-season. The Golden Eagles are currently just head of Northern State, who improved to 19-20 (14-14 NSIC) with Wednesday's sweep. The top eight teams make it to St. Cloud, Minn., for the NSIC Tournament played May 8-11 at Faber Field and Putz Field. The Golden Eagles are looking to return to the tournament for the third time in four seasons.

Minnesota Crookston remains four games shy of tying the school-record for both overall wins and conference victories.

Game One
Northern State University walked off with a 4-3 win in extra innings as Hayden Hall singled to left center to plate Chad Hinkle. The Golden Eagles forced some free baseball as Travis Conoryea (R-So., OF/C, Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) doubled down the line to drive in Brock Reller (So., OF, Grand Forks, N.D.) and knot the game up 3-3 in the sixth stanza.

Minnesota Crookston was unable to score in the top of the ninth of what was scheduled to be a seven-inning game, and Northern State responded in their half of the inning to come away with the win.

Nate Albrecht (Sr., LHP, Wahpeton, N.D.) had another quality start on the hill as he went seven innings and allowed just two earned runs on five hits. Albrecht struck out eight on the game with just one walk.

Dalton Grose (R-So., LHP, Waterville, Minn.) ended up with the loss and relief as he falls to 2-2 after allowing one run on three hits with two strikeouts and two walks in 1.2 innings of work.

Luke Chevalier had a strong outing on the bump for the Wolves as he tossed eight frames and allowed just two earned runs on six hits with 12 strikeouts and just three walks. John Poldberg picked up the victory in relief after shutting down the Golden Eagles in one inning.

The Golden Eagles had seven hits on the day propelled by Scott Finberg (Jr., 3B, Stillwater, Minn.), who went 2-of-4 with a run scored. Reed Hjelle (Sr., 1B, East Grand Forks, Minn.) finished the day 2-of-3, while Mason Ruhlman (Jr., 2B, Algonac, Mich.) went 2-of-4 with an RBI and a run scored.

Northern State was led by Hall, who went 3-of-4 with one RBI and a run scored. Hinkle finished the game 1-of-3 with two runs scored, while Justin Barreneche was 2-of-4 with one RBI.

The Golden Eagles broke the scoreless tie in the top of the second as Ruhlman doubled down the line to bring in Finberg. Two batter later, Bryce Jorgenson (Jr., UT, Thunder Bay, Ontario) launched a double to left center to plate Ruhlman to put Minnesota Crookston ahead 2-0.
The Wolves cut the deficit to 2-1 when Barreneche singled through the left side to drive in Hall.

Northern State over took Minnesota Crookston 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth when Spencer Sarringar doubled to right center to plate Hinkle and Dakota Stilson.

The Golden Eagles tied the game up 3-3 in the top of the sixth as Conoryea doubled down the line to plate Reller.

The Wolves broke through with the walk-off game-winning hit as Hill singled to left center to score Hinkle as Northern State took game one 4-3.

Game Two
Northern State scored six runs in the fifth inning led by two home runs by Spenser Larson on the game as they defeated Minnesota Crookston 10-4. The Golden Eagles led 4-3 going into the bottom of the fifth when the Wolves utilized their six-run onslaught to upend Minnesota Crookston.

Graeme Cherry (Jr., LHP, Millarville, Alberta) got the start and was effective as he went four innings and gave up just three runs on five hits with two strikeouts in four frames. Aaron Hollcraft (Sr., LHP, Crookston, Minn.) ran into trouble in 0.1 innings, allowing three runs on one hit with two walks.

Louis Gerzin (Sr., RHP, Ely, Minn.) was saddled with the loss, falling to 3-1 on the year, after giving up three runs on three hits in 0.2 innings. Tyler Hegg (Fr., RHP, Thompson, Minn.) wrapped up the game by tossing one stanza and allowing just one run on three hits.

Cody Curfman got the win for Northern State after allowing just three earned runs on two hits with five strikeouts and three walks in six innings. Poldberg threw one frame and shut out the Golden Eagles with no hits allowed.

The Golden Eagles had just two hits on the game, led by Reller, who was 1-of-2 with three RBIs and one run scored, with his one hit being a three-run home run. Ruhlman went 1-of-3 with one RBI and a run scored.

Northern State looked to Larson, who had a big day going 2-of-3 with six RBIs and two runs scored. Mikey Adams was 2-of-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Hayden Houts was 2-of-4 with a run scored.

Minnesota Crookston jumped out to an early 4-0 lead with a big first inning. The Golden Eagles scored when Ruhlman doubled up the middle to plate Jorgenson, who led off the game by being hit by a pitch. Later in the frame, Reller drove the ball over the right field fence to drive in Hjelle, himself, and Ruhlman as Minnesota Crookston took a 4-0 lead. The home run was Reller's eighth of the season, which is second on the squad.

The Wolves cut the deficit to 4-1 in the bottom of the second when Jeffrey Disla singled to left field to plate Mikey Adams. Disla was caught stealing by a strong throw by Ben Thoma (So., C/IF, Clearbrook, Minn.) as the game remained at 4-1 in favor of the Golden Eagles.

Northern State cut further into the lead 4-3 when Spenser Larson powered one over the left field fence to drive in himself and Hall in the bottom of the fourth frame.

The Wolves took a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the fifth when Adams singled to left field with the bases loaded to plate Hinkle and pinch-runner Carter Erickson. Northern State loaded the bases again with a Sarringar single. Larson then delivered with his second blast of the day as he widened the lead to 9-4. Gerzin got out of further trouble with a strike out of Disla but not without the Wolves holding a 9-4 advantage.

Northern State extended their lead to 10-4 in the bottom of the sixth when Hinkle continued a strong day with a double to center field to score Sam McMacken.

The Golden Eagles were unable to overcome the big fifth inning for Northern State as they fell 10-4.

Minnesota Crookston will look to bounce back from four-straight losses as they take on Bemidji State University, in a series currently scheduled for Sat., April 27 and Sun., April 28 in Bemidji, Minn. Stay tuned to goldeneaglesports.com for any changes to this weekend's schedule.