St. Louis, Mo. – It was a gorgeous day in St. Louis, as Minnesota Crookston baseball was looking at a doubleheader against the Tritons of Missouri-St. Louis.
Alex Koep (Jr., LHP, Parkers Prairie, Minn) was outstanding in game one, guiding the Golden Eagles to a six-run victory. In game two,
Jake Hjelle (R-Jr., OF/1B, East Grand Forks, Minn.) hit a go-ahead solo home run in the top of the ninth, but the Tritons would answer with a pair of runs to earn the split.
Minnesota Crookston falls to 2-5 on the season.
Game One
Minnesota Crookston would start fast in game one.
Caden Headlee (Jr., OF, Fargo, N.D.) would lead things off with a double. Two batters later,
Mike Hallquist (Jr., 3B, Fargo, N.D.) would drive in his former Bismarck State College teammate with a triple and a 1-0 lead.
Hallquist would stall at third.
Koep would then get out of a jam in the bottom of the first to maintain the 1-0 lead.
In the second and third innings, Koep would strike out five hitters in a row and have a pair of 1-2-3 innings.
The Tritons would mount a no out, bases loaded rally in the bottom of the fourth, but somehow, someway, Koep would get out of the inning with no harm done, keeping the 1-0 lead.
Minnesota Crookston would respond with a crooked number in the fifth.
Danny Wensloff (Jr., OF/C, Roseau, Minn.) would start the two out rally with a walk. He would later come around to score on a
Josh Dykhoff (Fr., 1B/P, Wadena, Minn.) two-RBI single, also scoring Hallquist.
In the top of the seventh, the Golden Eagles would put the game out of reach with three more runs on just one hit.
Derin Gaudette (So., RHP, New York Mills, Minn.) would come in and shut the door for the 7-1 victory.
Hallquist continued to stay hot. The junior finished 2-3 in the game with a pair of runs scored. The top five in the order each collected a hit for the Golden Eagles. Wensloff, Hallquist and Dykhoff each scored two runs.
Koep earned his first win of the season, going five innings, striking out nine, while giving up just five hits.
Jakob Wiirre (Sr., RHP, Mims, Fla.) and Gaudette each pitched an inning.
Game Two
Game two would be a high scoring affair, but the scoring wouldn't start until the fourth inning.
Wensloff would crush his first home run of his Golden Eagle career over the right centerfield fence for a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth. Late in the inning, Dykhoff would single to right field, scoring Hallquist for a two run lead.
It wouldn't take long for UMSL to answer, as they would score three in the bottom of the fourth for a one run lead.
Once again, the Golden Eagles would answer with another two out rally. Dykhoff would walk with the bases loaded, scoring Headlee to tie the game up at three. Hjelle would then reach on an error and
Teddy Giefer (Jr., 1B, Courtland, Minn.) would cap off the rally with an RBI single.
In the fifth and with two outs, the Tritons would tie things up with a two-run home run.
The game would head to extra innings.
After two scoreless innings, Hjelle would come up huge, hitting his second home run of the season to give the Golden Eagles the lead.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Tritons would walk off the Golden Eagles with two runs to win it, 7-6.
The maroon and gold would collect nine hits, led by Hjelle who went 2-5. Hallquist had another hit in the game, bringing his average to .545 on the season. Hallquist has at least one hit in every game, but one this season.
Jake Osowski (Jr., RHP, East Grand Forks, Minn.) earned the starts and gave up five runs on six hits, while striking out seven.
Brody Sorenson (Jr., RHP, Grand Forks, N.D.) was good in relief, allowing just two runs in three innings. Wiirre picks up the loss in relief of Sorenson.
The Golden Eagles will look for the split in the four game series tomorrow against UMSL. First pitch is set for 1 P.M.
