ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The 24^th-ranked University of Minnesota Crookston baseball team took an early 3-1 lead on St. Cloud State University Sunday, April 25, but ultimately fell to the Huskies 7-3. St. Cloud State picked up five runs in the sixth and seventh innings in order to pick up the victories.

Minnesota Crookston falls to 17-6 (12-6 NSIC) with Sunday's loss. The Golden Eagles are now in third place in the NSIC standings. The Huskies moved up to fourth in the conference standings. St. Cloud State improved to 15-10 (13-7 NSIC) with the victory. The Huskies picked up the series sweep over UMN Crookston. The Golden Eagles have continued to have one of their best seasons in program history.

Matt Nelson (R-So., RHP, Afton, Minn.) had a strong start on the mound. Nelson went 3.0 innings and allowed just one earned run on six hits. Nelson struck out four and walked two. Brody Sorenson (Fr., RHP, Grand Forks, N.D.) came on in relief and gave up two earned runs on three hits in 2.1 innings of work. Sorenson struggled with walks as he gave up four. Garrett Hohn (R-Sr., RHP, Wausua, Wis.) came on for one inning and allowed two runs, while walking three batters. Raudel Wilson (Fr., RHP, Hercules, Calif.) gave up two walks in 0.1 innings on the mound. Gregory Diaz (R-Jr., RHP, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) was strong in 1.1 innings of work, with just one walk allowed and no runs given up.

For St. Cloud State, Jack Habeck went the distance, with a complete game for the Huskies. He allowed just three runs on 10 hits. Habeck nine strikeouts and just one walk.

UMN Crookston had 10 hits for the game. Mason Ruhlman (R-Sr., 2B, Algonac, Mich.) went 3-of-4 with one run scored. Landyn Swenson (R-Sr., OF, Devils Lake, N.D.) was 2-of-4 with one RBI. Scott Finberg (R-Sr., 3B, Stillwater, Minn.) went 1-of-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Jake Hjelle (R-Fr., 1B, East Grand Forks, Minn.) was 1-of-4 with a run scored, while Carter Mulcahy (Fr., C, Perham, Minn.) went 1-of-4 with an RBI.

St. Cloud State was led by John Nett, who was 2-of-4 with three runs scored. Matt Quade went 2-of-2 with an RBI and a run scored. Drew Bulson was 1-of-4 with two RBIs. The Huskies walked 12 times on the game and had nine hits.

UMN Crookston jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Finberg doubled in Ruhlman. Two batters later, Swenson singled through the right side to drive in Finberg to extend the lead to 2-0. Mulcahy then hit a single to left center to bring in Hjelle to give Minnesota Crookston a 3-0 head start.
St. Cloud State picked up a run in the bottom of the first when Nett scored on a Tate Wallat groundout.

The Huskies cut the deficit to 3-2 when Bulson singled in Quade. St. Cloud State would load up the bases, but Nelson would keep the Huskies stranded and maintain the 3-2 lead for the Golden Eagles.

St. Cloud State loaded up the bases again in the bottom of the fourth. However, Sorenson got the Golden Eagles out of trouble to keep the lead at 3-2.

The Huskies would do it once more, as they loaded up the bases, but Sorenson picked up a crucial fly out from Lenny Walker to keep the score at 3-2 in favor of Minnesota Crookston.

The Huskies finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth when Jake Shusterich singled to plate Nett. Wallat would come in on a passed ball to give St. Cloud State a 4-3 lead. With the bases loaded, Hohn walked Bulson to score Shusterich to give the Huskies a 5-3 advantage.

St. Cloud State added two runs in the bottom of the seventh. With the bases loaded, Quade earned a walk off Wilson to score Nett to make it 6-3 St. Cloud State. Wallat came in on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 7-3. Diaz secured the final out of the inning to keep the score at 7-3.
Minnesota Crookston was able to cut into the deficit, as St. Cloud State picked up the 7-3 victory.

Huskies earn the series victory and have the 3-2 edge over the Golden Eagles on the season. Minnesota Crookston won two non-conference games over St. Cloud State in March.

Minnesota Crookston will return home for their final stretch at the UMC Baseball Field for the regular-season. The Golden Eagles host Northern State University Wednesday, April 28 at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. They will remain home to take on Bemidji State University Saturday, May 1 and Sunday, May 2 at the UMC Baseball Field.