Mauston, Wis. – Minnesota Crookston baseball has been one of the hottest teams in the nation as of late, winning seven games in a row heading into another NSIC bout with Winona State.
In game one of the doubleheader, Winona State came back from a 3-0 deficit early on, walking off the Golden Eagles to win, 4-3.
The Golden Eagles would bounce back nicely, exploding for 15 runs in a 15-0 win over the Warriors in game two.
The Golden Eagles improve to 14-9 (4-1 NSIC) on the season.
Game One
Minnesota Crookston would get off to a great start in the top of the second, putting up a crooked number.
Josh Dykhoff (Fr., 1B/P, Winona, Minn.) would hit his third home run of the season, putting the Golden Eagles up by a run.
Later on in the inning,
Mitch Goodwin (Jr., SS, Prior Lake, Minn.) would double in a run, scoring
Teddy Giefer (Jr., 1B, Courtland, Minn.) for a 2-0 lead. Three batters later, Goodwin would score on a
Mike Hallquist (Jr., 3B, Fargo, N.D.) RBI single.
The three-run inning for the Golden Eagles would be the final runs they would score.
The Warriors would get a run back on a double to left center, to cut the lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the second.
In the bottom of the fifth, Winona State would tie things up on a Cooper Kapanke two-RBI double.
Two innings later, Kapanke would do it again. The Warriors first baseman would double again to right center, scoring Mason Trocke for the 4-3 win.
The Golden Eagles finished with eight hits, led by a 2-4 performance from Hallquist and a 2-3 outing from
Matt Nunn (Sr., C, Edina, Minn.). The Golden Eagles left six runners on base.
Dykhoff got the start on the bump as well. The freshman went 4.0 innings, giving up 10 hits and three earned runs, while striking out three.
Conner Richardson (R-Sr., RHP, Grand Forks, N.D.) picked up the loss in relief, moving him to 1-1 on the season.
Game Two
Game two was all Golden Eagles.
The maroon and gold would get off to a fantastic start in the top of the first, scoring a run on a sacrifice fly by the reigning NSIC Player of the Week,
Jake Hjelle (R-Jr., OF/1B, East Grand Forks, Minn.).
The Golden Eagles wouldn't score again until the fourth inning, when they put up a crooked number. Goodwin would start the two out rally, driving in
Caden Headlee (Jr., CF, Bismarck, N.D.) on an infield single. Goodwin and
Danny Wensloff (Jr., OF/C, Roseau, Minn.) would later score on a Nunn double.
Leading 4-0, the Golden Eagles would score another two runs on another Nunn double, scoring Goodwin and Wensloff, once again.
Minnesota Crookston would put the game out of reach in the seventh inning. Hallquist would score on a passed ball, Wensloff would triple in a run and an error scoring a run would make it a 9-0 lead in the seventh.
The maroon and gold would add six more runs in the eighth, capped off by a three-run home run from
Zeke Hass (Sr., OF, Eaton, Colo.) to make it 15-0 in favor of the maroon and gold.
Minnesota Crookston finished with 11 hits, highlighted by three hits from Wensloff, tying a career-high. Wensloff also scored four runs in the game. Nunn finished with a pair of hits, as well. Hallquist also collected a hit, bringing his hit streak to 12 games.
Matt Nelson (R-Sr., RHP, Afton, Minn.) was outstanding on the bump. The fifth-year senior went 6.0 innings, giving up three hits, while striking out nine and picking up his first win of the season.
Derin Gaudette (So., RHP, New York Mills, Minn.) came on in relief and gave up two hits and struck out two in two innings of work.
What's Next
Minnesota Crookston will resume NSIC play this weekend against Concordia-St. Paul. Location for this weekend's series against the Golden Bears is TBD.
