CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball team will head to Florida to compete in The RussMatt Central Florida Invitational Sunday, March 6 – Sunday, March 13. The Golden Eagles are set for seven games in Florida.

Minnesota Crookston vs. Saginaw Valley State
Sunday, March 6 – 4:15 p.m. C.T.
Winter Haven, Fla. – Chain Of Lakes Stadium
Live Stream - https://russmatt.bethebeast.com/btb/eventliveplus

Minnesota Crookston vs. Lewis
Monday, March 7 – 5 p.m. C.T.
Auburndale, Fla. – Lake Myrtle Field 1
Live Stream -  https://russmatt.bethebeast.com/btb/eventliveplus
Live Stats - https://lewisflyers.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary

Minnesota Crookston at Saint Leo
Tuesday, March 8 – 5 p.m. C.T.
Saint Leo, Fla. – Thomas B. Southard Stadium
Live Stream - https://www.sunshinestateconference.tv/saintleo/
Live Stats - http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=stle

Minnesota Crookston at Saint Leo
Wednesday, March 9 – 5 p.m. C.T.
Saint Leo, Fla. – Thomas B. Southard Stadium
Live Stream - https://www.sunshinestateconference.tv/saintleo/
Live Stats - http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=stle

Minnesota Crookston vs. Northwood
Friday, March 11 – 12:30 p.m. C.T.
Auburndale, Fla. – Lake Myrtle Main
Live Stream - https://russmatt.bethebeast.com/btb/eventliveplus

Minnesota Crookston vs. Bentley
Saturday, March 12 – 10:30 a.m. C.T.
Sanford, Fla. – Sanford Stadium

Minnesota Crookston vs. Northern State
Sunday, March 13 – 1:30 p.m. C.T.
Lakeland, Fla. – Henley Field

Minnesota Crookston Preview
Projected Starters
R-Sr. C 29 Ben Thoma, .265, 16 R, 3 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 10 RBI
or Sr. C 41 Sunny Resnick, .091, 1 R, 3 RBI
Sr. 1B 3 Jack Peppel, .280, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI
or So. 1B 36 Teddy Giefer, .364, 2 R, 1 2B, 4 RBI
R-Sr. 2B 2 Ben Bryant, .081, 2 R, 2 RBI
or R-Sr. 2B 13 Tyler Jochen, .267, 2 R
R-So. 3B 8 Jake Hjelle, .308, 14 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 17 RBI
or R-Sr. 3B 29 Ben Thoma, .265, 16 R, 3 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 10 RBI
SS 10 Mitch Goodwin, .200, 6 R, 2 2B, 5 RBI
LF 4 Zeke Hass, .270, 5 R, 3 2B, 1 HR, 10 RBI
CF 16 Brad Morris, .327, 12 R, 4 2B, 4 RBI
R-Sr. RF 32 Chad Musser, .219, 5 R, 2 2B, 4 RBI
or RF 23 Ben Goelz, .263, 3 R, 6 RBI
Jr. DH 14 Matt Nunn, .303, 5 R, 2 2B, 6 RBI

Top Pitchers
R-Jr. RHP 33 Jake Dykhoff, 2-1 0.50 ERA, 18.0 IP, 24 K, 2 BB
R-So. RHP 24 Jake Osowski, 0-0 2.03 ERA, 13.1 IP, 10 K, 0 BB
So. LHP 37 Alex Koep, 1-1 3.07 ERA, 14.2 IP, 27 K, 4 BB
R-Jr. RHP 6 Joey Greco, 0-0 1.69 ERA, 5.1 IP, 4 K, 4 BB
Fr. RHP 35 Americo Sculati, 0-0 2.45 ERA, 3.2 IP, 3 K, 1 BB
R-Jr. RHP 17 Conner Richardson, 1-0 6.94 ERA, 11.2 IP, 8 K, 9 BB

The Golden Eagles come into the RussMatt Invitational with a 5-8 mark. Minnesota Crookston went 2-2 in their last series with Missouri S&T. They are coming off two games, in which they combined to score 32 runs. Their offense had previously been struggling, but they are now sitting in a strong spot going into Florida. Minnesota Crookston comes into the week hitting .247 as a team. The Golden Eagles have been led by Jake Hjelle (R-So., 3B/OF, East Grand Forks, Minn.), who is hitting .308 with 14 runs scored, a team-high five home runs, and 17 RBIs. Brad Morris (R-Sr., OF, Auckland, New Zealand) comes into the week batting .327 with 12 runs scored, four doubles, and four RBIs. Matt Nunn (Jr., C, Edina, Minn.) has been a great addition to the team, hitting .303 with five runs scored, and six RBIs. Jack Peppel (Sr., 1B, Olivia, Minn.) comes into the week batting .280 with three runs scored, and a double, and an RBI. Zeke Hass (Jr., OF, Eaton, Minn.) has been an impact transfer for the Golden Eagles. He is batting .270 with five runs scored, three doubles, one home run, and 10 RBIs. Ben Thoma (R-Sr., C/3B, Clearbrook, Minn.) has been a staple for the Golden Eagles over the last five seasons. He is batting .265 with a team-high 16 runs scored. He also has four home runs, and 10 RBIs.

On the mound, Jake Dykhoff (R-Jr., RHP, Wadena, Minn.) has been excellent for the Golden Eagles. Dykhoff is 2-1 with a 0.50 ERA in 18 innings on the bump. He has 24 strikeouts, and just two walks. Jake Osowski (R-So., RHP, East Grand Forks, Minn.) has also been great for UMN Crookston. He has a 2.03 ERA in 13.1 innings pitched, with 10 strikeouts, and no walks. Alex Koep (So., LHP, Parkers Prairie, Minn.) is 1-1 with a 3.07 ERA in 14.2 innings pitched. He has a team-high 27 strikeouts, compared to just four walks. Out of the bullpen, Joey Greco (R-Jr., RHP, Half Moon Bay, Calif.) has a 1.69 ERA in 5.1 innings of work. Americo Sculati (Fr., RHP, Golden Valley, Minn.) has been great as a freshman for the Golden Eagles. He has a 2.45 ERA, and one save, in 3.2 innings on the mound.

Saginaw Valley State
The Cardinals come into Florida with a 1-4 mark. They lost four to the University of Illinois-Springfield, and picked up a 13-2 win over Cleary University. Saginaw Valley State went 17-17 during the 2021 season. The Golden Eagles will play Saginaw Valley State Sunday, March 6 at 4:15 p.m. C.T. at Chain of Lakes Stadium in Winter Haven, Fla. Saginaw Valley State is located in University Center, Mich.

The Cardinals are hitting .299 as a team, coming into the week. Colin Cornwell leads the way. He is hitting .500 with eight runs scored, one home run, and four RBIs. Martin Money is batting .500 with four runs scored, three doubles, and nine RBIs. Conner McClennen comes into the week, batting .333 with two RBIs.

On the mound, Saginaw Valley State looks to lefty Reed Raymond, who is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in six innings. He has seven strikeouts, and just two walks. Hunter Merillat comes in with a 3.60 ERA in five innings of work. He has five strikeouts, and just one walk. The Cardinals come into the week with a team ERA of 12.91.

Lewis
Lewis University enters the week with a 0-4 mark. They lost three to No. 8 Trevecca Nazarene University, and one to the University of Saint Francis. The Flyers went 24-18 during the 2021 slate. The Golden Eagles will play Lewis Monday, March 7 at 5 p.m. C.T. on field one at the Lake Myrtle Complex in Auburndale, Fla. Lewis University is located in Romeoville, Ill.

The Flyers are hitting .257 as a team. Cherokee Lebeau leads the way, batting .400 with three runs scored, one double, and one RBI. Thomas Fox comes in batting .385, with two runs scored, two doubles, one triple, and seven RBIs. Patrick Keaty is hitting .333 with one double, and one RBI. Kevin Barry comes in swinging .313 with three runs scored, and two RBIs.

On the bump, Lewis has an 8.44 ERA as a team. They have been led by Chad Cwik, who has a 0.00 ERA in three innings of work, with four strikeouts, and two walks. Kyle Hussey has a 3.00 ERA in three innings on the bump. Jake Karaba comes into the week with a 4.50 ERA in six innings. He has seven strikeouts, and four walks.

Saint Leo
Saint Leo University comes into the week with an 8-7 record. The Lions went 9-17 during the 2021 campaign. Minnesota Crookston will play at Saint Leo Tuesday, March 8 at 5 p.m. C.T., and Wednesday, March 9 at 5 p.m. C.T. at Thomas B. Southard Stadium in Saint Leo, Fla.

The Lions are hitting an impressive .294 as a team. Saint Leo is guided by the bat of Bobby Sparling. He is hitting .419 with 13 runs scored, seven home runs, and 22 RBIs. Adrien Roa comes in hitting .455, with five runs scored, two home runs, and four RBIs. Sam Crail is hitting .327, with a team-high 17 runs scored, two home runs, and eight RBIs. Buck Anderson comes in batting .302, with 13 runs scored, and seven RBIs.

On the mound, Saint Leo comes in with a 4.73 ERA. The Lions are guided by Drew Rudsinski. He is 1-0 with a 0.77 ERA in 11.2 innings on the bump. He has struck out nine, and walked just one. Andy Booth is 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA in 9.2 innings of work. He has struck out 15, and walked just two. Jestin Jones is 2-1 with a 2.31 ERA in 11.2 innings.

Northwood
Northwood University comes into the week with an 8-3 mark. They posted a 29-17 mark in 2021, advancing to the 2021 NCAA Midwest Regional. The Golden Eagles will play the Timberwolves Friday, March 11 at 12:30 p.m. C.T. at the main field at the Lake Myrtle Complex in Auburndale, Fla. Northwood University is located in Midland, Mich.

Northwood is hitting .277 as a team. The Timberwolves are guided by Matt Magno, hitting .464, with seven runs scored, two home runs, and nine RBIs. Alex Jarboe comes in batting .400, with four runs scored, one home run, and six RBIs. Jacob Rybicki is hitting .364, with a team-high 12 runs scored, two home runs, and seven RBIs. Khale Showers is hitting .290, with five runs scored, one home run, and six RBIs.

The pitching staff is led by Jayden Dentler, who is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 16.2 innings of work. He has 11 strikeouts, and four walks. Cam Schuelke is 2-1 with a 5.91 ERA in 10.2 innings on the hill, with 16 strikeouts, and eight walks. Drew Schultz comes in with a 2.70 ERA in 10 innings of work.

Bentley
Bentley University enters the week with a 1-5 mark on the season. Their lone win came against Assumption University Friday, February 25. The Falcons went 17-11 during the 2021 season. The Golden Eagles will play Bentley Saturday, March 12 at 10:30 a.m. C.T. at Sanford Stadium in Sanford, Fla. The current Sanford Memorial Stadium was built in 1951 as the spring training home of the New York, now San Francisco Giants. A previous stadium was built in 1926 on the same site. The site is the place where Jackie Robinson played his first minor league game with the Dodgers organization. Many major league legends, including Robinson, Willie Mays, and Babe Ruth have played on the site. Bentley University is located in Waltham, Mass.

Bentley is hitting .219 as a team. They have been lifted by Liam Sears, batting .346, with five runs scored, and two RBIs. Charlie Auditore comes in batting .320, with four runs scored, and five RBIs. Tim Zupkus comes in hitting .286, with three runs scored, one home run, and five RBIs.

On the mound, the Falcons are led by freshman Marc Cedrone, who has a 2.70 ERA in 10 innings of work, with seven strikeouts, and just two walks. Jared Brooks is 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in seven innings. Jimmy Hodgson comes in with a 5.00 ERA in nine innings on the bump.

Northern State
Minnesota Crookston will finish up their trip with a familiar foe with NSIC counterpart Northern State University. The Wolves are 2-5 on the season. They have wins over University of Central Oklahoma, and Washburn University. Northern State went 15-22 during the 2021 season. The Golden Eagles will play the Wolves Sunday, March 13 at 1:30 p.m. C.T. at Henley Field in Lakeland, Fla. Henley Field was the spring training home of the Detroit Tigers until 1966. It was built in 1922 and is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Northern State is hitting .251 as a team. They are guided by Niko Pezonella, batting .333, with four runs scored, one home run, and six RBIs. Spencer Sarringar comes in hitting .321, with three runs scored, and two RBIs. Ramon Vega, Jr., is batting .250, with five runs scored, and one RBI.

On the hill, the Wolves look to Max Otto, who is 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings. He has 14 strikeouts, and just two walks. Andrew Pugliano has a 1.23 ERA in 7.1 innings of work. Michael Chevalier has a 0.00 ERA in four innings on the hill, with one save. He has struckout seven, and walked nobody.