MELBOURNE, Fla. – Mason Ruhlman (Sr., 2B, Algonac, Mich.) hit two home runs and drove in seven for the game as the University of Minnesota Crookston baseball team upended Florida Institute of Technology 15-12 Tues., Feb. 25 in Melbourne, Fla. The Golden Eagles scored 15 unanswered runs after trailing 2-0 in the early going. The Panthers attempted to rally and make the improbable comeback as they scored 10 unanswered runs of their own, but Dalton Grose (Sr., LHP, Waterville, Minn.) was able to shut the door as the Golden Eagles got the 15-12 win.

Minnesota Crookston moves to 3-3 with Tuesday's win. They improve to 2-1 on their 11-game trip at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational in the Sunshine State. Florida Tech falls to 4-10 with the loss. The Panthers won 29 games in 2019. Tuesday's game was played at Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field in Melbourne, along the Atlantic Coast of Florida.

Phil Hindes (Jr., RHP, Tucson, Ariz.) picked up his first win as a Golden Eagle, going five innings and allowing six runs on nine hits with two strikeouts and two walks. Grose picked up his first save of the 2020 season as he chases his school-record 13 saves from last season.

Preston Schumacher suffered the loss after allowing three earned runs on four hits in 2.1 innings of work. The Panthers utilized seven different pitchers in the game.

Ruhlman led the Golden Eagles, going 3-of-4 with seven RBIs and two runs scored. Thoma had a home run, going 3-of-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Ben Bryant (R-So., 2B/SS, Fargo, N.D.) finished 2-of-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Bryant is hitting .625 in eight at-bats over the last two games for the Golden Eagles. Jake Hjelle (Fr., 1B, East Grand Forks, Minn.) went 2-of-3 with one RBI and two runs scored, while Tyler Jochen (Jr., IF, San Jose, Calif.) scored three runs on 1-of-2 on the game.

The Panthers looked to Blaise Maris, who was 2-of-4 with two runs and three RBIS. Dylan Owens finished 2-of-4 with four RBIs and four runs scored.

The Golden Eagles looked to get on the board early as Bryce Jorgenson (Sr., OF, Thunder Bay, Ontario) led off the game with a single to left field. Bryant would move his teammate over on a sacrifice bunt. Jorgenson would attempt to score on a sacrifice fly but would be thrown out at the plate.

The Panthers scored first as Vincenzo Catenza doubled to drive in Dylan Owens to give Florida Tech a 1-0 advantage in the bottom of the second. Jack Nagy extended the lead for the Panthers to 2-0 with a single to center field to score Catenza. The Golden Eagles were able to get a double play to get out of any further trouble.

Minnesota Crookston looked to respond in the top of the third. Thoma opened up the inning with a double. He came home as Hjelle delivered a single to center field to trim the deficit to 2-1. The Golden Eagles knotted up the game 2-2 as Bryant hit an infield single to bring in Hjelle. Bryant's single chased Florida Tech starter Schumacher from the game. Ruhlman made reliever Alex Carpenter pay as he put one over the right center fence to score Bryant and  Jochen and extend the lead to 5-2. Finberg looked to extend the inning with a single to center field, After an infield single from Brad Morris, Thoma powered one over the fence to plate Morris and Finberg and push the lead to 8-2 in the top of the third. Luis Moriyon was able to get the final out of the inning, but not before the Golden Eagles could score eight runs to take the 8-2 advantage.

Jochen earned a walk to lead off the top of the fourth and was moved over on a Jorgenson sacrifice bunt. Jochen came into score on a Bryant single to extend the lead to 9-2. Ruhlman powered his second home run of the game to score Bryant and himself to push the advantage to 11-2.

With one out in the top of the fifth, the Golden Eagles looked to extend their lead. Thoma started off the scoring rally with a double. Hjelle joined Thoma on the base paths after being hit by a pitch. Both runners moved over 90 feet on a wild pitch, giving the Golden Eagles two runners in scoring position. Jochen walked for the second time on the day, loading up the bases with one out. Jorgenson reached on an error, allowing Thoma to score to add even more security to Minnesota Crookston's lead at 12-2. Hjelle came in to score on a wild pitch, pushing the chasm to 13-2 in the fifth. A walk dealt to Bryant loaded up the bases again for Minnesota Crookston with just one out. Ruhlman continued his big day with a two RBI single to drive in Jorgenson and Jochen and extend the lead to 15-2. The Panthers got out of the four-run inning with a double play, but not without even more damage done by the Golden Eagles.

Florida Tech looked to get some runs back in the bottom of the fifth. Blaise Maris channeled his grandfather Major League Baseball legend Roger Maris, as he doubled to left center to drive in Alec Eldridge and Brendan Riley to cut the deficit to 15-4. A Brett Parrish double down the left field line scored Maris and trimmed the Minnesota Crookston lead to 15-5. Parrish came in to score on an Owens groundout to cut the deficit to 15-6.

The Panthers followed up a big fifth inning with a strong frame in the sixth. With the bases loaded, Maris walked to bring in Rodnie Bernard to score. With the bases still loaded, Raul Quintero walked to plate Riley and trim the deficit to 15-8. With the bases still juiced, Owens doubled down the left field line, clearing the bases by scoring Quintero, Maris, and Eldridge to pull Florida Tech within 15-11.

Florida Tech would get one more run in the seventh as Eldridge singled in Jakob Newton to pull within 15-12.

The Panthers would have two reach in the bottom of the ninth, but Grose would get crucial outs to preserve the 15-12 victory.

Minnesota Crookston continues their Florida trek by taking on Florida Southern College Wed., Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. C.T. in Lakeland, Fla.