CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball team will make the 3,763 mile jump over to Hilo, Hawai'i for a six-game stint against the University of Hawai'i-Hilo Thursday, February 10-Sunday, February 13. The Golden Eagles will play the Vulcans at Wong Stadium in Hilo, Hawai'i.

The series opens up Thursday, February 10 at 10 p.m. C.T. Minnesota Crookston and Hawai'i-Hilo will then compete Friday, February 11 at 10 p.m. C.T. in another single-game match-up. Saturday, February 12, the Golden Eagles and Vulcans will play a doubleheader at 7 p.m. C.T. and 9 p.m. C.T. at Wong Stadium. Sunday, February 13, the two squads will play another doubleheader at 4 p.m. C.T. and 6 p.m. C.T.

Projected Starters (Based on Last Week)
R-Sr. C 29 Ben Thoma (Clearbrook, Minn.)
R-Sr. 1B 3 Jack Peppel (Olivia, Minn.)
R-Sr. 2B 2 Ben Bryant (Fargo, N.D.)
R-So. 3B 8 Jake Hjelle (East Grand Forks, Minn.)
So. SS 10 Mitch Goodwin (Prior Lake, Minn.)
Jr. LF 4 Zeke Hass (Eaton, Colo.)
R-Sr. CF 16 Brad Morris (Auckland, New Zealand)
R-Sr. RF 32 Chad Musser (Plymouth, Minn.)
So. DH 23 Ben Goelz (Maple Lake, Minn.)

Top Pitchers
R-Jr., RHP 33 Jake Dykhoff (Wadena, Minn.)
R-Jr. RHP 17 Conner Richardson (Grand Forks, N.D.)
R-Jr. RHP 28 Matt Nelson (Afton, Minn.)
So. LHP 37 Alex Koep (Parkers Prairie, Minn.)
R-So. RHP 24 Jake Osowski (East Grand Forks, Minn.)
So. RHP 7 Brody Sorenson (Grand Forks, N.D.)
R-Jr. RHP 6 Joey Greco (Half Moon Bay, Calif.)
R-Sr. RHP 40 Phil Hindes (Tucson, Ariz.)

The Golden Eagles come into the series with a 2-1 mark on the season, after winning the series in Alva, Okla., against Northwestern Oklahoma State University. Minnesota Crookston comes into the series hitting .223 as a team. The Golden Eagles have been led by Ben Goelz (So., OF, Maple Lake, Minn.), who is batting .375 with one run scored, and four RBIs. Brad Morris (R-Sr., OF, Auckland, New Zealand) comes in batting .333 with three runs scored on the year. Jake Hjelle (R-So., 3B/OF, East Grand Forks, Minn.) is off to a solid start, hitting .308 with a 1.169 OPS. Hjelle has five runs scored, two home runs, and three RBIs. Ben Thoma (R-Sr., C/3B, Clearbrook, Minn.) is hitting .286 on the year with six runs scored, one double, three home runs, and six RBIs. Chad Musser (R-Sr., OF, Plymouth, Minn.) comes into Thursday hitting .250 with three runs scored, and two RBIs. Jack Peppel (R-Sr., 1B, Olivia, Minn.) has also played a crucial role hitting .286 on the season.

On the mound, Jake Dykhoff (R-Jr., RHP, Wadena, Minn.) leads the way after tossing five shutout innings Sunday against Northwestern Oklahoma State. Dykhoff has eight strikeouts, and just two walks. Jake Osowski (R-So., RHP, East Grand Forks, Minn.) comes in with a 0.00 ERA in three innings pitched. He has two strikeouts on the year. Brody Sorenson (So., RHP, East Grand Forks, Minn.), who held the closer role last season, has a 0.00 ERA in one inning of work. Joey Greco (R-Jr., RHP, Half Moon Bay, Calif.) comes in with a 0.00 ERA in 1.1 innings. Alex Koep (So., LHP, Parkers Prairie, Minn.) was outstanding in relief Sunday, tossing 5.1 innings with eight strikeouts, and no walks, as he earned the win. Phil Hindes (R-Sr., RHP, Tucson, Ariz.) came back from injury and went one inning, with three strikeouts.

Hawai'i-Hilo
Projected Starters (Based on Last Week)
R-Sr. C 25 Jaryn Kanbara (Wahiawa, Hawai'i)
R-Jr., 1B 40 Kobie Russell (Waipahu, Hawai'i
Jr. 2B 2 Eric Peterson (Puyallup, Wash.)
Gr. 3B 9 Joseph Gallagher (Fair Oaks, Calif.)
Jr. SS 15 Casey Yamauchi (Hilo, Hawai'i)
R-Jr. LF 42 Chris Aubort (Aliso Viejo, Calif.)
R-Sr. CF 12 Brett Komatsu (Hilo, Hawai'i)
R-So. RF 14 Bradyn Yoshia (Makakilo, Hawai'i)
So. DH 21 Ryan Cho (San Diego, Calif.) or Fr. DH 37 Tui Ickes (Wahiawai, Hawai'i)

Top Pitchers
Fr. RHP 18 James Yamasaki (Honolulu, Hawai'i)
So. RHP 33 Christian DeJesus (Mililani, Hawai'i)
So. LHP 19 Jacob Liberta (Tempe, Ariz.)
R-Sr. LHP 32 Kyle Alcorn (Lakewood, Calif.)
Fr. RHP 29 Conor Meehan (San Bruno, Calif.)
So. LHP 16 Aaron Davies (Palos Verdes, Calif.)
Sr. RHP 3 John Kea (Kapolei, Hawai'i)
R-Fr. RHP 26 Ty Honda (Hilo, Hawai'i)

The Vulcans enter Thursday with a 4-1 mark after winning the series last weekend against San Diego Christian College. Hawai'i-Hilo posted a 14-15 record in 2021. The Vulcans are hitting .287 as a team. They are guided by Casey Yamauchi, who is batting .444, with five runs scored, two doubles, and seven RBIs. Brett Komatsu comes in hitting .438, with four runs scored, one double, and two RBIs. Ryan Cho enters the week hitting .400, with two runs scored, two doubles, and one RBI. Eric Peterson is batting .364 on the year, with four runs scored, and an RBI. Jaryn Kanbara comes in hitting .308, with one run scored, and one RBI.

On the bump, Hawai'i-Hilo is guided by James Yamasaki, who has a 0.00 ERA in four innings on the mound, with five strikeouts, and no walks in one start. Christian DeJesus has a 0.00 ERA in 3.2 innings pitched, with two strikeouts. Jacob Liberta comes in with a 0.00 ERA in two innings of work, with three strikeouts. Aaron Davies is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 3.1 innings on the mound, with five strikeouts. John Kea comes in with a 2.70 ERA in 3.1 innings of work.