CROOKSTON, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball team picked up an important sweep in their NSIC slate with a pair of victories over St. Cloud State University, 4-3 and 10-3. The Golden Eagles jumped the Huskies in the standings after the pair of wins, moving to a tie with Winona State University for sixth.
The Golden Eagles improved to 20-22 (17-15 NSIC) with Wednesday's sweep of the Huskies. St. Cloud State dropped to 20-22 (16-16 NSIC) with the losses. Minnesota Crookston has won the last three games in the series, and are 5-1 in their last six games.
Game One
The Golden Eagles walked off the first game 4-3 using a Sawyer Satrom (Sr., IF, Portland, N.D.) sacrifice fly to plate Kyler Miller (Fr., SS, Grand Rapids, Minn.) in the bottom of the seventh.
Isaac Wensloff (Jr., RHP, Roseau, Minn.) started on the rubber and went five innings allowing three runs on four hits. He struck out five, and walked two. Isaac Roers (R-Jr., RHP, Stacy, Minn.), who has a team-high 20 relief outings, got the win to improve to 5-4. He allowed no runs on one hit. Roers struck out two.
Frankie Volkers tossed six innings, allowing three runs on five hits. Volkers struck out nine, and walked three. Cael Kolacia was handed the loss, allowing one run on one hit.
Minnesota Crookston was lifted by Josh Dykhoff (Jr., DH/1B, Wadena, Minn.), who was 2-of-3, with two RBI, and a run scored. Dylan Debilzen (Fr., OF, Parkers Prairie, Minn.) went 2-of-4, with two runs scored from his leadoff spot. Satrom was 1-of-3, with an RBI, while Miller went 1-of-3, with a run scored.
St. Cloud State jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the third with a Blaine Guthrie double, scoring Liam Moreno.
The Golden Eagles knotted the game 1-1 in the bottom of the third with a Brock Larsen (R-Jr., C/1B, Blaine, Minn.) sacrifice fly to score Debilzen.
The Huskies inched ahead with an Eric Bello solo shot to make it 2-1 in the fourth.
In the fifth frame, Austin Baumhauver scored after the Golden Eagles threw to second on a Guthrie stolen base, extending their lead to 3-1.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Golden Eagles tied the score with a Dykhoff two-run home run, bringing in Debilzen. The home run was Dykhoff's team-high 13th home run of the season. He has 39 home runs in his career.
The Golden Eagles walked off the win in the bottom of the seventh as Satrom lifted one to right field for a sacrifice fly, bringing in Miller to send Minnesota Crookston off with a 4-3 victory.
Game Two
Minnesota Crookston powered past the Huskies in game two 10-3 catapulted by a Kyler Miller grand slam in the bottom of the sixth.
Kyle Odenbach (Jr., LHP, Thompson, N.D.) started the game and went four innings, allowing one run on four hits in a quality start. Max Weber (Sr., RHP, St. Paul, Minn.) got the win in relief, allowing one run in 0.1 innings. Caden Edwards (R-Sr., LHP, Duluth, Minn.) pitched a scoreless 1.2 frames, with three strikeouts. Roers made his second appearance of the day in a third of an inning. Joey Connelly (Jr., LHP, Eden Prairie, Minn.) tossed 0.2 innings, allowing an unearned run on two hits. Nate Grafsgaard (R-Sr., RHP, Devils Lake, N.D.) notched a scoreless eighth, with Eli Denisen (R-So., LHP, Winona, Minn.) pitched a scoreless ninth.
Drayton Lou suffered the defeat, allowing seven runs on six hits in 5.2 innings. He struck out three, and walked three. Nolan Kahle allowed three runs in 1.1 innings, while Connor Doolittle pitched a scoreless stanza.
Miller paced the Golden Eagles, going 1-of-4, with four RBI, and a run scored. He has hit three home runs in his freshman campaign. Dykhoff was 2-of-5, with a run scored. Connor Bushbaum (R-Jr., OF, Saginaw, Minn.) finished 1-of-2, with two RBI, and a run scored. Larsen was 1-of-2, with two RBI, and two runs scored. Kobe Senn (Sr., IF, Fargo, N.D.) finished 1-of-2, with an RBI.
Minnesota Crookston pushed out to an early 2-0 advantage in the first with a Larsen singled to plate Debilzen, and Dykhoff.
In the fourth, the Huskies trimmed the deficit to 2-1 as Hayden Konkel scored on a wild pitch. St. Cloud State deadlocked the game 2-2 in the fifth with a Guthrie double to score Bello.
Minnesota Crookston pushed ahead 3-2 early in the sixth when Bushbaum was hit by a pitch, scoring Larsen. The cap off the inning, Miller hit a grand slam, driving in Bushbaum, Sculati, and Aaron Wensloff to extend the advantage to 7-2.
In the seventh, St. Cloud State cut the deficit to 7-3 when Ethan Navrtail scored on a wild pitch.
To open the seventh, Sculati walked to plate Satrom to widen the gap to 8-3. Minnesota Crookston extended their advantage to 9-3 with a Senn sacrifice fly, scoring Larsen. The Golden Eagles scored the final run of the game on a Bushbaum single, plating Aaron Wensloff.
Minnesota Crookston hits the road to face the University of Minnesota Duluth in a three-game series Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27.
