Article by Noah Grant. Photo by St. Cloud State Athletic Department.
The St. Cloud State Huskies baseball team rolled to a 17-5 victory earlier tonight over the University of Sioux Falls to open a four game series. The Huskies scored five runs in the third inning, five in the fourth, and another six in the fifth in a red-hot offensive showing at Sioux Falls Stadium.
Despite the final score, it was the Cougars opening the scoring in the second, as Isaac Bonner hit a two-run home run to right field. Jackson Yeager followed Bonner with a solo homer to left, as Sioux Falls went back-to-back off Huskies’ starter Bryce Brassfield to make it 3-0.
The inning was extended by a Huskies’ outfield error, as William Edwards found himself on third base after his fly ball landed uncaught. Edwards would come home to score on a sacrifice fly, padding the Cougars lead. Brassfield settled in nicely after that, however, allowing just three hits across his final three innings of work.
It was the Huskies’ turn to have an extended inning at the plate in the top of the third. Despite two quick outs, St. Cloud managed to string a series of quality at bats together to keep the inning alive. Junior Wyatt Tweet and senior Ethan Navratil picked up RBI singles to cut the deficit to two, before sophomore Wilmis Castro deposited a fastball over the right center field wall, scoring Tweet and Navratil to put the Huskies in front 5-4.
The fun wouldn’t stop there for St. Cloud. In the fourth, nine Huskies came to bat and another five crossed the plate to make it 10-4. Tweet and Navratil were at the center of the action once again, as both knocked two-run doubles in the inning.
The parade to the plate continued in the fifth, as Sioux Falls pitching issued three walks in the frame and the Huskies were able to take advantage. After senior Blaine Guthrie and redshirt junior Eric Bello reached on free passes, redshirt junior Liam Moreno lined a two-run single to left field.
The Huskies then manufactured a run as Moreno and redshirt sophomore Hayden Konkol, who walked, stole second and third simultaneously. When the Cougar defense attempted to throw out Konkol at second, it bought enough time for Moreno to round third and slide home safely.
Ethan Navratil picked up his fourth RBI of the afternoon, driving in Konkol with a single. A Wilmis Castro double and redshirt freshman Grayson Fuchs single rounded out the eventful fifth inning,
The Cougars had one more opportunity to regain some momentum, loading the bases with no one out in the bottom of the fifth, but Bryce Brassfield recorded a strikeout and induced a double play to end the threat.
Conner Doolittle and Cole Bakkum closed out the sixth and seventh innings for the Huskies. Mitch Iliff launched a solo home run of Bakkum in the seventh, but the Huskies righthander bounced back with a pair of strikeouts to end the game.
Due to the lead of thirteen runs, the game ended after the seventh inning instead of the scheduled nine. On the mound, Brassfield earned his second win of the season, while Jake Ammann took the loss for Sioux Falls.
The series will continue Saturday, March 22, with a doubleheader from Sioux Falls Stadium starting at noon.
Recent Comments