CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball team is set for an NSIC mid-week match-up with Upper Iowa University Wednesday, March 30 at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. against Upper Iowa University at Robertson Woods Field in Fayette, Iowa.

The Golden Eagles are coming off an important series win over Concordia University-St. Paul where they took 2-of-3. Minnesota Crookston comes in with an 11-14 (3-3 NSIC) record. Upper Iowa is 2-14 (0-5 NSIC). The Peacocks are coming off a pair of losses in Monday's doubleheader against Northern State University. They play the Wolves in the series finale Tuesday, March 29 in Fayette, Iowa.

Minnesota Crookston at Upper Iowa
Wednesday, March 30
Robertson Woods Field, Fayette, Iowa
Live Stats - https://uiupeacocks.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
Video - https://www.nsicnetwork.com/uiupeacocks/

Minnesota Crookston Preview
Projected Starters
R-Sr. C 29 Ben Thoma, .253, 30 R, 5 2B, 2 3B, 9 HR, 23 RBI
Sr. 1B 3 Jack Peppel, .205, 7 R, 2 2B, 1 RBI
or So. 1B 36 Teddy Giefer, .258, 4 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 9 RBI
R-Sr. 2B 13 Tyler Jochen, .239, 11 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBI
or R-Sr. 2B 2 Ben Bryant, .083, 3 R, 4 RBI
R-So. 3B 8 Jake Hjelle, .316, 23 R, 5 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 26 RBI
R-So. SS 10 Mitch Goodwin, .221, 13 R, 8 2B, 11 RBI
Jr. LF/DH 4 Zeke Hass, .263, 12 R, 9 2B, 1 HR, 17 RBI
or Jr. LF 1 Paxton Nelson, .250, 5 R
R-Sr. CF 16 Brad Morris, .306, 19 R, 7 2B, 7 RBI
R-So. RF 23 Ben Goelz, .340, 7 R, 4 2B, 14 RBI
Jr. DH 14 Matt Nunn, .288, 9 R, 3 2B, 12 RBI

Top Pitchers
R-Jr. RHP 33 Jake Dykhoff, 5-2 1.51 ERA, 41.2 IP, 50 K, 8 BB
R-So. RHP 24 Jake Osowki, 2-0 1.95 ERA, 27.2 IP, 24 K, 7 BB
So. LHP 37 Alex Koep, 2-2 3.12 ERA, 34.2 IP, 56 K, 11 BB
Jr. RHP 19 Jakob Wiirre, 0-0 3.38 ERA, 5.1 IP, 6 K, 1 BB
R-Jr. RHP 6 Joey Greco, 0-0 4.32 ERA, 8.1 IP, 5 K, 4 BB
R-Jr. RHP 17 Conner Richardson, 1-3 5.60 ERA, 27.1 IP, 20 K, 15 BB
R-Jr. RHP 30 Jackson Schneider, 0-0 4.50 ERA, 6.0 IP, 4 K, 5 BB

Minnesota Crookston comes into Wednesday hitting .252 as a team. The Golden Eagles are led by Jake Hjelle (R-So., 3B/OF, East Grand Forks, Minn.), who is batting .316, with 23 runs scored, five doubles, seven home runs, and 26 RBIs. Ben Goelz (R-So., OF, Maple Lake, Minn.) is coming off a big weekend. Goelz hit .636 in three games against Concordia-St. Paul, with two runs scored, two doubles, and four RBIs. Ben Thoma (R-Sr., C/3B, Clearbrook, Minn.) is leading the NSIC in runs scored (30), and home runs (10). Brad Morris (R-Sr., OF, Auckland, New Zealand) comes in batting .306, with 19 runs scored, seven doubles, and seven RBIs. Matt Nunn (Jr., C, Edina, Minn.) is hitting .288, with nine runs scored, and 12 RBIs.

Minnesota Crookston's pitching staff is anchored by two-time NSIC Pitcher of the Week Jake Dykhoff (R-Jr., RHP, Wadena, Minn.), who is 5-2 with a 1.51 ERA in 41.2 innings pitched. Dykhoff has struck out 50, and walked just eight. Jake Osowski (R-So., RHP, East Grand Forks, Minn.) has also been outstanding in a utility role, both starting and coming out of the bullpen. Osowski is 2-0 with a 1.95 ERA, in 27.2 innings pitched, with 24 strikeouts, and seven walks. Another pitcher who has been phenomenal has been Alex Koep (So., LHP, Parkers Prairie, Minn.), who leads the NSIC in strikeouts. Koep is 2-2 with a 3.12 ERA in 34.2 innings on the bump.

Upper Iowa
Projected Starters
Jr. C 14 Kainoa Torres, .262, 4 R, 2 3B, 1 RBI
Jr. 1B 19 Evan Kerlin, .143, 2 R, 1 RBI
So. 2B 15 Jake Hilmer, .211, 3 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI
So. 3B 12 Samuel Grushkin, .136, 7 R, 3 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Sr. SS 4 Jerry Garcia, .277, 7 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Jr. LF/RF 23 Nicholas Vite, .300, 8 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 5 RBI
or So. LF 28 Tanner Stein, .313, 3 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI
So. CF 5 Ryan Hull, .268, 8 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 4 RBI
Fr. RF 13 Cael Luzum, .206, 5 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 RBI
Fr. DH 2 Ethan Sawyer, .224, 8 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 14 RBI

Top Pitchers
Sr. RHP 27 Sam Marhefke, 0-0 2.19 ERA, 12.1 IP, 12 K, 1 BB
So. RHP 24 Keaton Parker, 0-4 4.97 ERA, 25.1 IP, 19 K, 11 BB
So. RHP 18 Jarrett Ramer, 0-4 6.20 ERA, 20.1 IP, 20 K, 7 BB
R-Jr. LHP 1 Colin Lacey, 1-2 7.36 ERA, 14.2 IP, 15 K, 6 BB
SO. RHP 10 Grant Ver Voort, 0-0 0.00 ERA, 3.2 IP, 2 K, 0 BB
Jr. RHP 3 Race Geesink, 1-0 2.70 ERA, 3.1 IP, 3 K, 3 BB

Upper Iowa comes in with a 2-14 (0-5 NSIC) record. The Peacocks currently have a 12-game losing streak dating back to a 5-4 win over Rockhurst University February 28. They are in their fourth season under Head Coach Jeremy Ische.

The Peacocks are hitting .226 as a team. Upper Iowa is led by Nicholas Vite, batting .300, with eight runs scored, one home run, and five RBIs. Tanner Stein comes in batting .313 with three runs scored, two doubles, and two RBIs. Jerry Garcia is hitting .277 this season, with seven runs scored, one home run, and four RBIs. Two-sport student-athlete Jake Hilmer, who also plays men's basketball, has joined back up with the team since conference season. Hilmer is hitting .211 this season, with three runs scored, two home runs, and three RBIs.

Upper Iowa's top starter has been Keaton Parker with a 0-4 mark and a 4.97 ERA, with 19 strikeouts, and 11 walks. Jarrett Ramer is 0-4 with a 6.20 ERA, while lefty Colin Lacey is 1-2 with a 7.36 ERA. Out of the bullpen, Sam Marhefke comes in with a 2.19 ERA, in 12.1 innings pitched, with 12 strikeouts, and one walk.