CROOKSTON, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball team opens NSIC play with a neutral-site series at the LaRoche Baseball Complex in Fort Scott, Kan. A state-of-the-art facility in honor of former Major League Baseball player Adam LaRoche.
The Golden Eagles face Wayne State College Wednesday, February 21 at 2 p.m., Thursday, February 22 in a doubleheader at 1 and 3 p.m., and Friday, February 23 at 3 p.m.
Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
Jr. C 29 Kodi Miller, .400, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Or Sr. C 19 Danny Wensloff, .333, 1 R, 1 RBI
Sr. 1B 18 Teddy Giefer, .467, 3 R, 3 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI
R-So. 2B 20 Kobe Senn, .125, 1 R, 1 RBI
Or Fr. 2B 1 Caden Kappes, .000
R-So. 3B 34 Sawyer Satrom, .500, 3 R, 2 RBI
R-Sr. SS 10 Mitch Goodwin, .400, 4 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI
R-Sr. LF 8 Jake Hjelle, .357, 4 R, 2 RBI
R-Jr. C 9 Caden Headlee, .417, 4 R, 3 2B, 3 RBI
R-Sr. RF 23 Ben Goelz, .182, 5 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI
So. DH 32 Josh Dykhoff, .385, 3 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Top Pitchers
So. RHP 32 Josh Dykhoff, 1-0 0.00 ERA, 5.0 IP, 6 K, 1 BB
R-Sr. RHP 24 Jake Osowski, 0-0 10.38 ERA, 4.1 IP, 4 K, 2 BB
Fr. LHP 41 Nate Benning, 0-1 9.82 ERA, 3.2 IP, 2 K, 4 BB
Sr. RHP 7 Brody Sorenson, 0-0 12.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, 1 K, 0 BB
So. LHP 39 Joey Connelly, 0-0 0.00 ERA, 1.0 IP, 0 K, 1 BB
R-Sr. RHP 42 Tad Scherbenske, 0-0 0.00 ERA, 0.2 IP, 1 K, 0 BB
Minnesota Crookston enters next week's series with the Wildcats with a 1-2 mark, after picking up one win over the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. The Golden Eagles come in hitting .355, with 31 runs scored, 12 doubles, six home runs, and 28 RBIs. They have posted a .627 slugging percentage through three games. Offensively, Minnesota Crookston is led by reigning NSIC Player of the Year, NCBWA National Player of the Year, and Golden Spikes Award Watch List member Jake Hjelle (R-Sr., OF/1B, East Grand Forks, Minn.). Hjelle is batting .357, with four runs scored, and two RBIs.
In addition to Hjelle, Teddy Giefer (Sr., 1B, Courtland, Minn.) made a major impact in week one, batting .467, with three runs scored, three doubles, one home run, and seven RBIs. Sawyer Satrom (R-So., IF, Portland, N.D.) is hitting .500, with three runs scored, and two RBIs. Mitch Goodwin (R-Sr., SS, Prior Lake, Minn.) has made an impact, batting .400, with four runs scored, two doubles, two home runs, and six RBIs. Caden Headlee (R-Jr., OF, Fargo, N.D.) is swinging .417, with four runs scored, three doubles, and three RBIs. 2023 NSIC Freshman of the Year Josh Dykhoff (So., RHP/DH, Wadena, Minn.) is batting .385, with three runs scored, one home run, and four RBIs.
Dykhoff leads the Golden Eagle pitching staff. He is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in five innings of work. Dykhoff has struck out six, and walked just one. The Minnesota Crookston pitching staff has a 8.22 ERA in three games, with 17 strikeouts, and 14 walks. Jake Osowski (R-Sr., RHP, East Grand Forks, Minn.) had four strikeouts, and two walks in his debut. Nate Benning (Fr., LHP, Browerville, Minn.) made his first career start. Out of the bullpen, the U of M Crookston got strong outings from Joey Connelly (So., LHP, Eden Prairie, Minn.), who went one inning, and has a 0.00 ERA, and Tad Scherbenske (R-Sr., RHP, Rapid City, S.D.), who pitched 0.2 innings, and has a 0.00 ERA.
Wayne State
So. C/DH 4 Trey Wells, Omaha, Neb, .600, 6 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 6 RBIOr Sr. C 22 Kyler Essink, Bennington, Neb., .429, 2 R, 1 2B
Jr. 1B 28 Kaden Young, Columbus, Neb., .167, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI
Jr. 2B 2 Chase Douglas, Marshall, Minn., .333, 6 R, 1 3B, 3 RBI
Jr. 3B 7 Alex Calabrese, Elkhorn, Neb., .000
Or So. 3B 10 Braden Cannon, Omaha, Neb., .286, 3 R, 2 RBI
Jr. SS 21 Quinn McCafferty, Big Horn, Wyo., .400, 1 R, 3 2B, 6 RBI
Gr. LF 6 Colin Lynam, Springfield, Neb., .357, 6 R, 2 2B, 6 RBI
So. CF 41 Carter Thomas, Mason City, Iowa, .667, 5 R, 2 2B, 3 RBIOr So. CF 14 Noah Strizek, Lincoln, Neb., .000, 1 R
R-So. RF 5 Cam Madsen, Papillion, Neb., .154, 6 R, 1 2B
Sr. DH 17 Tommy Roland, Omaha, Neb., .500, 1 R, 2 RBI
Top Pitchers
Jr. RHP 18 Nathan Anderson, Bondurant, Iowa, 1-0 0.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 3 K, 0 BB
Jr. LHP 12 Corbin Kirk, Casper, Wyo., 1-0 0.00 ERA, 5.0 IP, 9 K, 3 BB
Jr. RHP 38 Eli Crnkovich, Valley, Neb., 0-0 0.00 ERA, 2.0 IP, 3 K, 1 BB
Sr. RHP 27 Brody Sintek, Fremont, Neb., 0-0 0.00 ERA, 2.0 IP, 3 K, 0 BB
Jr. LHP 34 Jacob Kneifl, Wayne, Neb., 1-0 1.80 ERA, 5.0 IP, 4 K, 1 BB
Jr. RHP 13 Jackson Shelburne, Omaha, Neb., 1-0 1.80 ERA, 5.0 IP, 6 K, 2 BB
The Wildcats enter the week with a 4-0 mark after sweeping Bemidji State University to open the 2024 season. Wayne State went 25-26 last season. Their season ended with a 7-5 loss to the Golden Eagles at the NSIC Tournament in Mandan, N.D.
The Wildcats come in hitting .326 as a team, with 47 runs scored, 14 doubles, two triples, and 35 RBIs. They are led by Carter Thomas, who is hitting .667, with five runs scored, two doubles, and three RBIs. Trey Wells comes in swinging .600, with six runs scored, two doubles, one triple, and six RBIs. Quinn McCafferty is hitting .400, with one runs scored, three doubles, and six RBIs. Colin Lynam is batting .357, with six runs scored, two doubles, and six RBIs.
On the bump, Wayne State has a 2.81 ERA, with 37 strikeouts, and just 14 walks. Nathan Anderson leads the Wildcats with a 1-0 mark and a 0.00 ERA in six innings pitched. He has struck out three. Lefty Corbin Kirk is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in five innings on the mound. He has struck out nine, with three walks. Jacob Kneifl is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in five innings of work, while Jackson Shelburne is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in five innings, with six strikeouts.
