CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball team will open up their 2020 campaign with a three-game series at Pittsburg State University Fri., Feb. 14, Sat., Feb. 15, and Sun., Feb. 16 at Al Ortolani Field in Pittsburg, Kan.

The Golden Eagles open up the 2020 slate and will look to build off their best season in program history with a 28-21 (20-12 NSIC) mark. Minnesota Crookston has made it to the NSIC Tournament three of the last four seasons. Minnesota Crookston enters their sixth season under Steve Gust, who has performed the ultimate transformation of a program in Crookston, taking a team that has won one game in 2012 and 2013 to 115 wins in the last five seasons, for an average of 23 wins per season. In 2020, he will be helped out by first-year assistants Max Casper and Alec DeMaria, along with returning assistant coach James Cullinane, who is a former player for Gust at Minnesota Crookston. Casper has been a part of great coaching staffs at North Dakota State University and Augustana University, helping the Vikings to a National Title during his time there, while DeMaria is familiar with the NSIC after a pitching career with the University of Mary.

Minnesota Crookston at Pittsburg State
Fri., Feb. 14, 3 p.m., Pittsburg, Kan.
Sat., Feb. 15, 1 p.m., Pittsburg, Kan.
Sun., Feb. 16, 12 p.m., Pittsburg, Kan.
Live Stats - https://pittstategorillas.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary

Catcher

Minnesota Crookston returns Ben Thoma (Jr., C/RHP, Clearbrook, Minn.) behind the dish after he hit .232 as a sophomore with 24 runs scored, five doubles, two triples, one home run, and 22 RBIs. Behind him, the Golden Eagles return Travis Conoryea (R-Jr., C/OF, Inver Grove Heights, Minn.), who played in 35 games last season. Conoryea hit .247 with eight runs, one double, and 10 RBIs. Minnesota Crookston also has Trey Larimer (R-Fr., C/OF, Thompson, N.D.) and Parker Stroh (Fr., C, Grand Forks, N.D.), who will look for time behind the plate.

Infield

At first base, the Golden Eagles will look to newcomers after graduating one of the best players in program history in Reed Hjelle. One of the players to watch at first is his brother Jake Hjelle (Fr., 1B, East Grand Forks, Minn.), who comes in after a strong career at East Grand Forks H.S. Hjelle will compete for time with Jack Peppel (R-Fr., 1B, Olivia, Minn.), who redshirted last season.

At second base, Minnesota Crookston returns Mason Ruhlman (Sr., 2B, Algonac, Mich.), who hit .219 as a junior with 21 runs scored, five doubles, two triples, four home runs and 19 RBIs. Ruhlman started 46 games at second base last season. Ben Bryant (R-So., 2B, Fargo, N.D.) comes to the Golden Eagles from Des Moines Area Community College where he hit .308 last season with eight runs scored and nine RBIs.

At short stop, the Golden Eagles are led by Arkansas State University transfer Will Zimmerman (Sr., SS, Park River, N.D.), who hit .290 as a junior for the Division I Red Wolves. Zimmerman started 19 games, and tallied 16 runs scored and 10 RBIs with a .403 slugging percentage on the season. At short stop, Tyler Jochen (Jr., IF, San Jose, Calif.) will look for time after hitting .303 in 2018 and .265 in 2019 for De Anza College in California. Last season, he scored 19 runs, hit four doubles, one triple, two home runs and 15 RBIs.

At third base, Minnesota Crookston returns Scott Finberg (Sr., 3B, Stillwater, Minn.), who started 48 games as a junior. Finberg batted .238 as a junior with 23 runs scored, 13 doubles, six home runs, and 29 RBIs. He has a .419 slugging percentage for the Golden Eagles. Behind Finberg, Bryant and Jochen give Minnesota Crookston versatility in the infield.

Outfield

In left field, the Golden Eagles return Bryce Jorgenson (Sr., OF, Thunder Bay, Ontario), who played a crucial role in 2019 starting all 49 games. Jorgenson hit .260 on the season with 38 runs scored, 15 doubles and 13 RBIs. He had a .404 on-base percentage in his first season in the Maroon and Gold. Eli Jung (Jr., OF, Dickinson, N.D.) also returns in left field after playing in four games last season.

In center field, Minnesota Crookston has great depth with impact transfer Brad Morris (Jr., OF, Auckland, New Zealand) and returnee Landyn Swenson (Sr., OF, Devils Lake, N.D.). Morris hit .366 as a sophomore at Riverland Community College with two runs, 33 RBIs, and 46 runs scored. Morris also stole 15 bases on the season. Swenson returns to the fray after starting 47 games as a junior, hitting .259 with 28 runs scored, four doubles, one home run and 22 RBIs.

In right field, the Golden Eagles are led by Brock Reller (Jr., OF, Grand Forks, N.D.), who is the top returnee at the plate for Minnesota Crookston. Reller led the squad with 47 RBIs last season and hit .284 with nine home runs, 12 doubles, four triples, and 37 runs scored. He had a .541 slugging percentage for the Golden Eagles. Minnesota Crookston also brings in Chad Musser (Jr., OF/1B, Plymouth, Minn.), who hit .302 as a sophomore at Century College with 33 runs scored, seven doubles, one home run and 29 RBIs.

Designated Hitter

The Golden Eagles have a lot of players who could see time at designated hitter led by Musser. Minnesota Crookston also returns T.J. Hokanson (R-Jr., 3B/OF, Chanhassen, Minn.), who has been in the program for four years. Peppel and Jake Thyes (R-So., Luxemburg, Wis.) could also factor in at designated hitter.

Starting Pitchers

Minnesota Crookston is led by four-year starter Jayden Grover (Sr., RHP, Cooperstown, N.D.), who went 5-3 in 2019 with a 5.43 ERA in 53.0 innings pitched with 43 strikeouts. Grover started 10 games as a junior. The Golden Eagles also return Conner Richardson (So., RHP, Grand Forks, N.D.), who had a strong debut season as a freshman, going 1-1 with a 3.76 ERA in 40.2 innings pitched with four starts. Richardson struck out 23 batters and walked just nine. Matt Nelson (So., RHP, Afton, Minn.) also returns after starting three games as a freshman. Nelson went 1-1 on the season in 21.2 innings pitched with 19 strikeouts.

Along with the returnees, the Golden Eagles bring in Gregory Diaz (R-Jr., RHP, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic), who redshirted last season. Diaz went 6-2 as a sophomore at Northland C.T.C. in 2018, striking out 64 to just 17 walks. Thoma will also pitch for the Golden Eagles, a position he has a strong history with at Bagley H.S. Phil Hindes (Jr., RHP, Tucson, Ariz.) also brings his talents to the staff after posting a 4.53 ERA at Rainy River College last season with 45 strikeouts to just 16 walks.

Bullpen

The Golden Eagle bullpen is anchored on the back end by Dalton Grose (Sr., LHP, Waterville, Minn.), who had a phenomenal season going 2-2 with a 3.52 ERA and 13 saves in 38.1 innings pitched. Grose broke Minnesota Crookston great and current Atlanta Braves minor leaguer Zach Seipel's saves record. Setting up Grose will be Tyler Hegg (Fr., RHP, Thompson, N.D.), who appeared in eight games as a freshman with five strikeouts, while Esten Beneda (R-Sr., RHP, Lankin, N.D.) also returns after pitching 7.1 innings as a junior with seven strikeouts.

The Golden Eagles will also utilize Yadiel Ortiz (Jr., RHP/IF, Patillas, Puerto Rico), Trace Brayton (Fr., LHP, Prentice, Wis.), T.J. Wagner (Jr., RHP, Cottage Grove, Minn.), Clarke Peterson (R-Sr., RHP, East Grand Forks, Minn.), and Garrett Hohn (Sr., RHP, Wausau, Wis.). Ortiz is a newcomer from Riverland C.C. He pitched 52.0 innings last season with seven starts with a 4.50 ERA, 38 strikeouts and just 12 walks. Wagner tallied 29.2 innings as a sophomore with 19 strikeouts. Peterson recently converted to pitcher from catcher for the Golden Eagles. Brayton is a newcomer to the Golden Eagles after a strong career at Prentice H.S., while Hohn pitched 12.2 innings as a junior with seven strikeouts.

Pittsburg State

The Gorillas are currently 2-5 on the 2020 season after posting a 31-21 mark last season. Pittsburg State is in their second season under Bob Fornelli. Former Minnesota Crookston assistant Taylor Steen, who spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons with the Golden Eagles, is currently the assistant coach under Fornelli, who Steen played under at Emporia State University.

As a team, Pittsburg State comes in hitting just .226 on the season. Blain Ohlmeier is leading the way with a .467 average with four runs scored, one doubles, and five RBIs. Ty Herrenbruck is also off to a strong start, batting .364 with three runs scored. Reece Garvie has started all seven games and is hitting .304 with four runs scored, one double, one home run and three RBIs.

On the mound, the Gorillas have a 7.52 ERA. Pittsburg State has been anchored out of the bullpen by Nick Brown with a 3.00 ERA in three appearances and six innings pitched. Brown has one win and five strikeouts. Tanner Lane is 10-1 with a .338 ERA in two starts and eight innings pitched, while Justin Root is 0-0 with a 4.70 ERA in 7.2 innings pitched.

Pittsburg State has wins over Winona State University and Henderson State University. The Warriors picked up the series win last weekend, taking 2-of-3.