CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball team is set for two games Tuesday, May 2 at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., at Wade Stadium in Duluth, Minn. The Golden Eagles will face Minnesota Duluth.

Minnesota Crookston is coming off a series win (2-of-3) against Minnesota State University. The Golden Eagles are in a great position heading into the final week of the regular-season. Minnesota Crookston has clinched their fifth NSIC Tournament berth in nine years. The Golden Eagles are currently third in the NSIC but are in the hunt for the NSIC regular-season Championship. The Golden Eagles can claim the title if they sweep their final five games, Augustana is swept by Winona State University on Tuesday, and Minnesota State loses at least one game to Wayne State College and Concordia University St. Paul. Minnesota Crookston can claim the second seed in the tournament by getting at least one more victory than Minnesota State does this week.

The Golden Eagles enter the week with a 32-17 (22-9 NSIC) mark. They have already set their school records for wins in a season and conference wins in a season. In addition, Head Coach Steve Gust is one win shy of reaching 200 wins. He would become only the second coach in school history in any sport, joining Gary Senske (men's basketball). Minnesota Duluth comes into Tuesday with a 17-25 (10-19 NSIC) record. Minnesota Crookston has won the last two games in the series. Minnesota Duluth's last win came May 5, 2021.

Minnesota Crookston at Minnesota Duluth
Tuesday, May 2- 10 a.m./12 p.m.
Wade Stadium/Duluth, Minn.
Live Stats - SCSU 8 UMD 4 Final (umdbulldogs.com)
Video - University of Minnesota Duluth on the NSIC Network

Minnesota Crookston
Projected Line-Up
C 14 Matt Nunn, .216, 14 R, 5 2B, 1 3B, 15 RBI
1B/RF 32 Josh Dykhoff, .324, 45 R, 11 2B, 12 HR, 39 RBI
or 1B/DH 18 Teddy Giefery, .257, 23 R, 9 2B, 5 HR, 17 RBI
2B 34 Sawyer Satrom, .268, 23 R, 5 2B, 2 3B, 20 RBI
3B 13 Mike Hallquist, .400, 59 R, 16 2B, 4 3B, 17 HR, 56 RBI
SS 10 Mitch Goodwin, .229, 32 R, 10 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 25 RBI
LF 8 Jake Hjelle, .386, 44 R, 14 2B, 3 3B, 17 HR, 61 RBI
CF 9 Caden Headlee, .343, 32 R, 9 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 32 RBI
RF/C 19 Danny Wensloff, .303, 37 R, 6 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 18 RBI
DH 4 Zeke Hass, .355, 8 R, 4 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI

Top Pitchers
LHP 3 Alex Koep, 6-1 2.60 ERA, 52.0 IP, 70 K, 28 BB
RHP 24 Jake Osowski, 6-1 3.92 ERA, 62.0 IP, 62 K, 19 BB
RHP 33 Jake Dykhoff, 7-4 4.28 ERA, 69.1 IP, 90 K, 18 BB
RHP 7 Brody Sorenson, 4-2 1.88 ERA, 38.1 IP, 28 K, 9 BB
RHP 28 Matt Nelson, 3-2 5.85 ERA, 40.0 IP, 34 K, 10 BB
RHP 17 Conner Richardson, 3-3 7.71 ERA, 23.1 IP, 21 K, 12 BB, 3 SV

The Golden Eagles are batting .310 as a team. Mike Hallquist (Jr., 3B, Fargo, N.D.) leads the team hitting .400. He leads the league in home runs, OPS, and slugging percentage. He has 17 home runs and 54 RBIs. Jake Hjelle is the co-leader for home runs with 17 and leads the league in RBIs with 61. Caden Headlee (Jr., OF, Fargo, N.D.) comes in swinging .343, while Josh Dykhoff (Fr., RHP/1B, Wadena, Minn.) is batting .324, with 12 home runs, and 39 RBIs.

The Golden Eagles have set the single-season record for home runs for the program with 72.

On the mound, the Golden Eagles have a 4.65 ERA. Alex Koep (Sr., LHP, Parkers Prairie, Minn.) is 6-1 with a 2.60 ERA in 52 innings, with 70 strikeouts and 28 walks. Jake Osowski (R-Jr., RHP, East Grand Forks, Minn.) comes in with a 6-1 mark and a 3.92 ERA in 62 innings.

 Jake Dykhoff (R-Sr., RHP, Wadena, Minn.) has been a three-time NSIC Pitcher of the Week. He is 7-4 with a 4.28 ERA, with 90 strikeouts.  

Minnesota Duluth
Projected Line-Up
C 28 Caden Klebba, .100, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI
1B 10 Tosten Mann, .264, 25 R, 8 2B, 2 HR, 14 RBI
2B/C 1 Michael Gabbard, .336, 21 R, 5 2B, 3 HR, 18 RBI
3B 35 Gabe Richardson, .326, 25 R, 5 2B, 5 HR, 31 RBI
SS 17 Alex Wattermann, .231, 27 R, 6 2B, 5 HR, 21 RBI
LF/2B 15 Jack Puder, .286, 20 R, 4 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 18 RBI
or LF 22 Thomas Hanson, .287, 12 R, 6 2B, 2 HR, 20 RBI
CF 3 Tim Pokornowski, .301, 38 R, 13 2B, 9 HR, 30 RBI
RF 25 Sam Tanner, .292, 35 R, 8 2B, 2 HR, 13 RBI
DH  34 Nathan Rosenberg, .326, 12 R, 3 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI

Top Pitchers
LHP 31 Brayden Buttweiler, 3-2 3.58 ERA, 37.2 IP, 43 K, 12 BB
LHP 13 Hayden Brown, 1-2 3.74 ERA, 21.2 IP, 17 K, 15 BB
RHP 11 Zach Kuseke, 2-2 3.77 ERA, 31.0 IP, 21 K, 10 BB
RHP 17 Alex Wattermann, 2-1 4.57 ERA, 21.2 IP, 24 K, 1 BB, 6 SV
RHP 3 Tim Pokornowski, 3-2 5.40 ERA, 34.0 IP, 27 K, 18 BB

Minnesota Duluth comes in hitting .285. Ethan Cole didn't play in the team's last games but is hitting .353 to lead the team. Michael Gabbard is batting .336, with 21 runs scored, three home runs, and 18 RBIs. Gabe Richardson is swinging .326, with 25 runs scored, five home runs, and 31 RBIs. Tim Pokornowski leads the team with nine home runs. The Bulldogs hit .285 as a team.

Minnesota Duluth has a 6.93 ERA as a pitching staff. Brayden Buttwiler is 3-2 with a 3.58 ERA in 37.2 innings pitched, with 43 strikeouts. Hayden Brown comes in with a 1-2 mark and a 3.74 ERA, while Zach Kuseke is 2-2 with a 3.77 ERA.