Article by Nathaly Degaldo. Photo by St. Cloud State Athletics.
St. Cloud State baseball took a weekend trip to U.S. Bank in Minneapolis to face the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs.
Fast pitching and strong hits led to a 3-1 series win over the Mustangs. Junior Bryce Brassfield pitched the entirety of game one, giving up two runs in the first inning. Husky senior Ethan Navratil’s home run gave the first baseman three RBIs (Moreno, Guthrie). The Huskies continued to rally six more runs, ending the first game 9-2.
In line with game one, the Mustangs hit the ground running while scoring three runs in the first inning. Redshirt junior pitcher Brady Nelson put a halt to this quickly. Nelson pitched to the seventh inning, not allowing anymore runs for the Mustangs. Navratil still on his hot streak batted a sacrifice fly, allowing redshirt junior Liam Moreno to score in the first inning. Multiple errors by the SMSU shortstop allowed Navratil and sophomore Hayden Konkol to score in the fifth inning, giving the Huskies a lead of 5-3. The second game ended with a score of 6-3 after a last minute wild pitch, allowing redshirt junior Eric Bello to score.
The Huskies ended the first day with a doubleheader sweep. St. Cloud State coach Pat Dolan was content with the results, but still knew there was more work to be done.
“We got to run through the base,” he said, “We can’t let little habits get past us.”
These small errors showed in game one of day two. The Mustangs took charge of the first game on Sunday, shutting out the Huskies. SMSU senior pitcher Carter Petron threw a no-hitter until sophomore outfielder Wilmis Castro hit a double in the seventh inning. The Huskies would lose 5-0 to the Mustangs.
The final game of the series required hard determination from both teams. Moreno hit a home run in the first inning. SMSU came back in the second inning to tie the game. The Huskies would take back the lead after scoring two runs in the fourth and fifth innings. The Mustangs desperate to make an attempt to match the Huskies would ultimately come up short. The Huskies won 5-4 in game two.
The Huskies will travel to Sioux Falls next weekend to take on the USF Cougars for a four game series on March 21-23.
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