SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball program earned a split with Augustana University Tuesday, March 30 at Karras Park Home of Ronken Field in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Golden Eagles took the second game 9-5 after scoring five runs in the top of the first. Minnesota Crookston made a late comeback in the first game, but Augustana utilized eight runs in the bottom of the third to pick up a 13-8 win.

The Golden Eagles move to 13-1 (9-1 NSIC) with Tuesday's split. UMN Crookston continues their best start since the program joined NCAA Division II in 1999. The 12-game winning streak coming into Tuesday is the best the Golden Eagles have had in NCAA Division II. They had an eight-game win streak from Feb. 25, 2018 to March 10, 2018, which was the best previous win streak for the Golden Eagles. Augustana moved to 10-4 (6-4 NSIC) with the split. UMN Crookston is in second place in the NSIC after the split.

Game One
Augustana used an eight-run bottom of the third in which the Golden Eagles had three errors in order to claim a 13-8 win. The Golden Eagles came back from a 10-0 deficit but were unable to overcome their third inning woes. Minnesota Crookston had five errors in the game, compared to just one for the Vikings.
The Golden Eagles scored eight runs on 11 hits in the game. Jake Hjelle (R-Fr., 1B, East Grand Forks, Minn.) has been swinging a great bat of late. He went 2-of-4 with four RBIs and a run scored, including a home run. Mason Ruhlman (Sr., 2B, Algonac, Mich.) added his third home run of the season, and went 2-of-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Will Zimmerman (R-Sr., OF/SS, Park River, N.D.) went 2-of-4 with two runs scored, while Brock Reller (Sr., OF, Grand Forks, N.D.) was 3-of-3 with an RBI and two runs scored.

Jayden Grover (R-Sr., RHP, Cooperstown, N.D.) suffered the loss after allowing 10 runs on eight hits with three strikeouts in 2.2 innings on the mound. Gregory Diaz (R-Jr., RHP, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) was effective in relief, going one inning and allowing no runs on no hits.

Jed Schmidt got the win for Augustana after pitching four innings and allowing just two runs on four hits with seven strikeouts.

Augustana's bats were guided by two home runs from Will Olson.

After a scoreless first inning, Augustana broke through in the bottom of the second when Riley Johnson scored on a Sam Baier sacrifice fly. Two batters later, Olson powered a home run over the fence in left center to extend the lead to 2-0.

The Golden Eagles ran into trouble fielding in the bottom of the third as they had three errors in the inning. Augustana moved the lead to 3-0 as Howell scored on a fielding error. The Vikings extended their lead to 4-0 when Jordan Barth singled and drove in J.T. Mix. The Vikings pushed their lead to 5-0 when Barth scored on a Baier groundout. In the next at-bat Christian Kuzemka put one out of the ballpark to score himself and Johnson and push the lead to 7-0. Olson followed it up with his second home run of the game, and the third for Augustana for the game as he gave Augustana an 8-0 lead. A Drey Dirksen triple plated Jaxon Rosencranz to widen the gap to 9-0. Dirksen would come home on a double steal to push the advantage to 10-0. Jackson Schneider (Jr., RHP, Forest Lake, Minn.) was able to get out of any further trouble in the inning.

UMN Crookston trimmed the deficit to 10-2 in the top of the fourth with a two-run shot from Ruhlman. The Golden Eagles would then have runners on the corner with no outs after Reller reached on a double and got to third on a balk, and Scott Finberg (R-Sr., 3B, Stillwater, Minn.) walked. However, Finberg would be picked off first base and Augustana got two more outs to get out of any further damage keeping the score at 10-2 in favor of the Vikings.

Augustana added a run in the bottom of the fifth when Carter Howell singled in Rosencraz to push the advantage to 11-2.

The Golden Eagles broke through for four runs in the top of the sixth. Reller started out the scoring with a single through the right side to plate Zimmerman. Later in the stanza, Hjelle remained hot with a three-run home run to drive in himself, Reller, and Ruhlman to trim the deficit to 11-6.

Augustana added two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Baier started out the scoring with an infield single to plate Johnson. Later in the frame, Tate Meiners doubled to bring in Baier to push the advantage to 13-6.

UMN Crookston looked for the late rally in the top of the seventh. With two runners on, Scott Finberg delivered a double down the line to bring in Ben Bryant (R-So., SS/2B, Fargo, N.D.). Hjelle was then able to hit an infield single to score Reller and cut the Augustana lead to 13-8. Minnesota Crookston was able to load up the bases when Bobby Chu (R-Sr., C, Redwood Valley, Calif.) was hit by a pitch. However, the Vikings would preserve the 13-8 win by getting the final out of the game.

Game Two
UMN Crookston used five runs in the first to propel them to a 9-5 win over the Vikings in the second game of the doubleheader. The Golden Eagles scored nine runs on 11 hits. Minnesota Crookston was led by Finberg, who went 2-of-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Zimmerman finished 2-of-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored, while Bryant was 2-of-5 with two runs scored.

Alex Koep (Fr., RHP, Parkers Prairie, Minn.) had a strong outing on the mound, going seven innings in a start and allowing four runs on nine hits with four strikeouts. He had no walks. Jake Osowski (R-Fr., RHP, East Grand Forks, Minn.) gave up one run in 0.2 innings of work, while Tyler Hegg (R-So., RHP, Thompson, N.D.) picked up the save in 1.1 innings on the bump with no runs, no hits, and a strikeout.

Parker Hanson picked up the loss. Hanson, who pitched for the Golden Eagles in 2017 and 2018 and earned a degree from Minnesota Crookston, allowed one earned run, but six runs overall, on three hits in 1.1 innings, with three strikeouts.

The Golden Eagles looked to rebound in game two of the series and they were able to jump on the Vikings right out of the gate. Bryant scored the first run after two errors from the Vikings. Minnesota Crookston extended the lead to 3-0 when Finberg singled to left field to drive in Ruhlman and Zimmerman. With the bases loaded, Landyn Swenson then hit a two RBI single to plate Finberg and Reller to widen the gap to 5-0.

Augustana got two runs back in the bottom of the first when Jordan Barth hit a two-run home run to drive in himself and Howell.

Minnesota Crookston extended their lead to 6-2 when Reller hit a sacrifice fly to score Zimmerman in the top of the second.

The Golden Eagles widened their advantage to 8-2 when Zimmerman hit a two-run blast to left field to score himself and Bryant in the top of the fourth.

Augustana cut the lead to 8-3 on a solo shot from Rosencranz in the bottom of the fourth.

The score remained at 8-3 until Johnson singled to left to drive in Barth in the bottom of the seventh to trim the deficit to 8-4.

Augustana looked to make a dent in the bottom of the eighth as they had runners on the corners with two outs. Howell came through with a single to drive in Olson to cut the lead to 8-5. Augustana's runners moved to second and third on a wild pitch but Hegg was able to get a crucial groundout to keep the score at 8-5.
Finberg added some security for the Golden Eagles when he smashed his fourth home run of the season to extend the UMN Crookston lead to 9-5 in the top of the ninth.

Hegg was able to mow down the Vikings in the bottom of the ninth to preserve the 9-5 win and pick up the save.

The Golden Eagles now have 31 home runs on the season. UMN Crookston needs just eight home runs to break the school record of 37 set during the 2016 season.

Minnesota Crookston will make their home debut at UMC Baseball Field with a three-game series with Wayne State College Friday, April 2 and Saturday, April 3 in Crookston, Minn.