CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball team looks to continue their strong start to the 2023 season with a pair of neutral site games against Concordia University St. Paul at Warrior Field at Omaha Westside High School in Omaha, Neb.

The Golden Eagles and Golden Bears will play a nine-inning game Saturday, March 25 at 6 p.m., and a seven-inning game at 12 p.m., and a nine-inning tilt at 2 p.m., on Sunday, March 26. Minnesota Crookston last competed at Omaha Westside H.S., against Wayne State College March 17 and 18, 2019.

Concordia-St. Paul vs. Minnesota Crookston
Saturday, March 25 – 6 p.m.
Omaha Westside H.S. – Omaha, Neb.

Live Stats - TeamA 0 TeamB 0 Top 1 0 Outs (goldeneaglesports.com)
Live Video - University of Minnesota Crookston on the NSIC Network

Sunday, March 26 – 12/2 p.m.
Omaha Westside H.S. – Omaha, Neb.

Live Stats - TeamA 0 TeamB 0 Top 1 0 Outs (goldeneaglesports.com)
Live Video - University of Minnesota Crookston on the NSIC Network

Concordia-St. Paul won the last game in the series with the two squads March 28, 2022 with an 8-4 victory in Sioux City, Iowa. Prior to that, UMN Crookston had taken eight of the last nine games in the series.

Minnesota Crookston Preview
Projected Line-Up
Sr. C 14 Matt Nunn, .256, 8 R, 4 2B, 9 RBIs
or Jr. C/DH 19 Danny Wensloff, .300, 17 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 9 RBIs
Jr. 1B 18 Teddy Giefer, .292, 10 R, 5 2B, 2 HR, 11 RBIs
or Fr. 1B/DH 32 Josh Dykhoff, .283, 17 R, 2 2B, 3 HR, 17 RBIs
R-Fr. 2B 34 Sawyer Satrom, .258, 9 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 12 RBIs
Jr. 3B 13 Mike Hallquist, .481, 28 R, 12 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 32 RBIs
Jr. SS 10 Mitch Goodwin, .225, 21 R, 5 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 9 RBIs
R-Jr. LF 8 Jake Hjelle, .349, 21 R, 7 2B, 1 3B, 8 HR, 27 RBIs
Jr. CF 9 Caden Headlee, .341, 17 R, 3 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 12 RBIs
Jr. RF 23 Ben Goelz, .303, 18 R, 7 2B, 3 HR, 19 RBIs
Jr. DH 37 Christian Norby, .267, 5 R, 4 2B, 9 RBIs

Top Pitchers
Jr. LHP 3 Alex Koep, 3-0 2.28 ERA, 23.2 IP, 36 K, 10 BB
R-Jr. RHP 24 Jake Osowski, 3-0 3.18 ERA, 28.1 IP, 26 K, 9 BB
R-Sr. RHP 33 Jake Dykhoff, 3-2 4.02 ERA, 31.1 IP, 35 K, 8 BB
Jr. RHP 7 Brody Sorenson, 2-1 1.13 ERA, 16.0 IP, 15 K, 4 BB
Fr. RHP 32 Josh Dykhoff, 1-1 5.14 ERA, 19.2 IP, 20 K, 6 BB
R-Sr. RHP 17 Conner Richardson, 1-2 8.25 ERA, 12.0 IP, 1 SV, 2 K, 5 BB

Minnesota Crookston enters the weekend with a 14-9 (4-1 NSIC). The Golden Eagles swept Wayne State College last weekend in Elkhorn, Neb., after hitting 12 home runs in three games. Tuesday, UMN Crookston split with Winona State University in a pair of games in Mauston, Wis.
The Golden Eagles are led by Jake Hjelle (R-Jr., OF/1B, East Grand Forks, Minn.), the reigning NSIC Player of the Week and NCBWA Central Region Player of the Week. Hjelle comes in batting .349, with 21 runs scored, seven doubles, one triple, eight home runs, and 27 RBIs. In addition, Mike Hallquist (Jr., 3B, Fargo, N.D.) has been a major addition to the Golden Eagles this season. Hallquist leads the NSIC in OPS, runs scored, hits, doubles, home runs, RBIs, and slugging percentage. Caden Headlee (Jr., OF, Fargo, N.D.) is swinging .341, with 17 runs scored, three doubles, two triples, one home run, and 12 RBIs. Ben Goelz (Jr., OF, Maple Lake, Minn.) is hitting .303, with 18 runs scored, seven doubles, three home runs, and 19 RBIs. Josh Dykhoff (Fr., RHP/1B, Wadena, Minn.) comes in hitting .283, with 17 runs scored, two doubles, three home runs, and 17 RBIs.

On the mound, Alex Koep (Jr., LHP, Parkers Prairie, Minn.) leads the way for the Golden Eagles. He is 3-0 with a 2.28 ERA in 23.2 innings pitched. Koep struck out 36 and has walked ten. Jake Osowski (R-Jr., RHP, East Grand Forks, Minn.) is 3-0 with a 3.18 ERA in 28.1 innings pitched, with 26 strikeouts and nine walks. Jake Dykhoff (R-Sr., RHP, Wadena, Minn.) is 3-2 with a 4.02 ERA in 31.1 innings pitched. He has 35 strikeouts and eight walks. Out of the bullpen, Brody Sorenson (Jr., RHP, Grand Forks, N.D.) is 2-1 with a 1.13 ERA in 16 innings of work.

Concordia-St. Paul Preview
Projected Line-Up
Jr. C  2 Justin McGuigan, .367, 12 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 8 RBIs
So. 1B 3 Kal Brohmer, .333, 11 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 15 RBIs
Jr. 2B 5 Brayden Roybal, .310, 19 R, 2 2B, 11 RBIs
Jr. 3B 30 Bryce Nelson, .364, 18 R, 2 2B, 3 3B, 12 RBIs
Jr. SS 4 Jaden Warner, .308, 8 R, 6 2B, 1 HR, 16 RBIs
So. LF 27 Noah Juliar, .323, 16 R, 3 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 21 RBIs
Jr. CF 1 Mason Wolf, .211, 11 R, 5 RBIs
Jr. RF 23 Nick Thimsen, .278, 13 R, 8 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 12 RBIs
So. DH 21 Koby McBroome, .273, 10 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3 RBIs

Top Pitchers
So. RHP 16 Korey Dahlberg, 2-2 2.52 ERA, 25.0 IP, 25 K, 6 BB
Jr. RHP 40 Jonah Lewis, 1-1 3.13 ERA, 23.0 IP, 25 K, 4 BB
Jr. RHP 25 Eric Lundell, 2-0 2.04 ERA, 17.2 IP, 1 SV, 16 K, 7 BB
Jr. LHP 18 Matt Sherman, 0-1 6.10 ERA, 10.1 IP, 10 K, 11 BB
So. RHP 36 Gavin Rusch, 1-0 8.83 ERA, 17.1 IP, 10 K, 4 BB

Concordia-St. Paul comes into the weekend with a 9-9 (5-0 NSIC) mark. The Golden Bears swept Bemidji State University Sunday and Monday and swept University of Mary Wednesday. The second game against the Marauders went 16 innings with the Golden Bears winning on a walk-off single from Noah Juliar 7-6.

Justin McGuigan leads the way for Concordia-St. Paul. He is batting .367, with 12 runs scored, one double, one triple, and eight RBIs. Bryce Nelson comes in batting .364, with 18 runs scored, two doubles, three triples, and 12 RBIs. Juliar is hitting .323, with a team-high 21 RBIs. He has two home runs this season.

On the mound the Golden Bears look to reigning NSIC Pitcher of the Week Jonah Lewis, who is 1-1 with a 3.13 ERA in 23 innings on the bump. He has struck out 24 and walked four. Korey Dahlberg is 2-2 with a 2.54 ERA in 25 innings of work. Eric Lundell has led the bullpen for Concordia-St. Paul, going 2-0 with a 2.04 ERA in 17.2 innings on the mound.