CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball team used a walk-off single by pinch-hitter Hunter Baldwin (R-Jr., 3B/1B, St. Thomas, N.D.) to lift them to a Saturday sweep of Upper Iowa University 5-0 an 6-5 at the UMC Baseball Field. The Golden Eagles were paced by a one-hit shutout by Zach Rustad (Sr., LHP, Blaine, Minn.) in the game one victory, along with Baldwin's clutch hit.

The Golden Eagles continue one of their best starts in program history with a 16-11 (9-4 NSIC) mark. Minnesota Crookston is in sixth place in the NSIC standings after Saturday. The Golden Eagles mark is their best since the 2016 season. The Golden Eagles are nine wins away from matching their wins total from the 2016 slate.

Minnesota Crookston earned the series win over the Peacocks as they took two of three games. Upper Iowa falls to 8-15 (5-13 NSIC) with Saturday's sweep.

Game One
Rustad dominated the Upper Iowa hitters on the day, as he bounced back on two days rest after a tough outing against University of Sioux Falls Wednesday. Rustad had a no hitter going until a Tony Salato single up the middle in the top of the sixth. He tossed a complete game shutout with just one hit allowed. Rustad had nine strikeouts with just three walks. Rustad moved to 4-4 with Saturday's victory.

The Golden Eagles had six hits on the game. Bryce Jorgenson (Jr., UT, Thunder Bay, Ontario) went 1-of-3 with one run scored. Ben Thoma (So., C/IF, Clearbrook, Minn.) went 1-of-1 with one RBI and one run scored, while Scott Finberg (Jr., 3B, Stillwater, Minn.) finished 1-of-3 with one RBI.

Duncan Snider picked up the loss after allowing four earned runs on six hits with eight strikeouts with two walks in Saturday's game one pitcher's duel. Logan Dewulf came on in relief to get one out in the sixth.

The Peacocks were led by Salato, who was 1-of-3 from his lead-off spot.

Minnesota Crookston jumped on the board with a big first inning. The first run crossed as Jorgenson scored on a Reller fielder's choice. Later in the stanza, Hjelle scored on a wild pitch by Snider. Minnesota Crookston moved their lead to 3-0 in the first frame when Thoma singled to right field to drive in Reller.

The Golden Eagles extended the lead to 4-0 as pinch-runner Alex Mushitz (Fr., 2B/SS, East Grand Forks, Minn.) scored on an error. Later in the frame, Finberg singled down the right field line to Plate Thoma to push the lead to 5-0. Minnesota Crookston would go on to win by that tally.

Game Two
The Golden Eagles overcame errors and 10 runners left on base through the first eight innings, as they walked off with the game two victory 6-5. Baldwin came through in the clutch as the pinch-hitter placed a single into the outfield with two outs to score Mushitz and Brock Reller (So., OF, Grand Forks, N.D.).

Conner Richardson (Fr., RHP, Grand Forks, Minn.) made his first career start Saturday, as he built on a strong relief outing against Minnesota State University March 26. Richardson allowed one run on eight hits over 6.2 innings with four strikeouts and no walks.

Dalton Grose (R-So., LHP, Waterville, Minn.) came on in relief and got his second win of the season. Grose tossed 2.1 innings and allowed no earned runs on one strikeout and two walks.

Thoma led the Golden Eagles by going 2-of-4 with one RBI. Reed Hjelle (Sr., 1B, East Grand Forks, Minn.) was 1-of-2 with two RBIs. Baldwin was 1-of-1 with two RBIs. Bobby Chu (Jr., C, Redwood City, Caluif.) and Griffin Fussy (R-So., SS, Ham Lake, Minn.) both went 1-of-4 with an RBI.

Alex Morales got the start for the Peacocks and had a solid start, as he went six innings with just one run allowed on seven hits with three strikeouts and four walks. Mac Wolfe went one innings and allowed one run on one hit. Dewulf tossed a zero up on the scoreboard in one inning. Clayton Lieb suffered the loss as he gave up the game-winning runs, allowing four runs on one hit with four walks. Chris Webber allowed Baldwin's game-winning hit, as he was the only batter Webber faced.

Upper Iowa was guided by Salato, who was 2-of-4 with three RBIs and a run scored. Cole Scieszinski went 1-of-4 with one RBI and two runs scored. Riley Braughton finished 2-of-3 with one run scored, while Kyle Routhieaux was 2-of-5 with a run scored.

The first three innings showcased a back-and-forth pitching duel between Richardson and Morales. The Peacocks finally broke through in the fifth inning as they were given new life by a Fussy error. Braughton scored the run as Scieszinski reached on the error. Later in the frame, Salato doubled to right center to drive in Routhieaux and Scieszinski to extend their lead to 3-0. Upper Iowa moved their advantage to 4-0 in the top of the fifth when Zac Cain singled to plate Salato.

Minnesota Crookston cut the deficit to 4-1 in the bottom of the fifth when Fussy came through with a clutch double to plate Finberg. However, the Golden Eagles left the bases loaded following Fussy's double, along hit by pitches offered to Swenson and Hjelle.

The Golden Eagles had a great scoring opportunity in the bottom of the sixth after they loaded the bases with singles from Mason Ruhlman (Jr., 2B, Algonac, Mich.), and Landyn Swenson (Jr., OF, Devils Lake, N.D.), along with a walk dealt to Jorgenson. However, they left the bases loaded as Upper Iowa secured the final out of the frame.

Minnesota Crookston trimmed the lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh as Hjelle scored on a Chu groundout.

Upper Iowa pushed their advantage to 5-2 in the top of the ninth when Scieszinski scored on a Salato sacrifice fly to right field.

The Peacocks walked Jorgenson, Hjelle, and Reller with just one out in the frame. Travis Conoryea (R-So., OF/C, Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) came through in a pinch hit opportunity as he singled to center field to drive in Jorgenson to cut the lead to 5-3. In the next at-bat, Thoma hit a sacrifice fly to left field to plate Hjelle. In the next at-bat, Minnesota Crookston loaded up the bases as Ruhlman was walked. That is when Baldwin came through with his two RBI single to plate Mushitz and Reller, as the Golden Eagles stormed the field to celebrate Saturday's walk-off win.

The Golden Eagles take on defending NCAA Division II National Champion Augustana University Wed., April 10 and 12 and 2 p.m. at the UMC Baseball Field in Crookston, Minn.