#9 Huskies Shovels Out of Early Deficit, Defeats Minnesota Duluth 6-2

Saturday, April 13

Mauston, Wis.

5:00 PM CT

St. Cloud State

25-6, 0

University of Minnesota Duluth

8-21, 0

Minnesota Duluth

St. Cloud State

#9 Huskies Shovels Out of Early Deficit, Defeats Minnesota Duluth 6-2

4/14/2019 11:32:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

SCSU extended their winning streak to three with the game one victory over UMD

By: Zach Siggelkow

MAUSTON, Wis. - A six hour afternoon of shoveling snow did not hinder the #9 St. Cloud State baseball team (25-6, 13-4 NSIC) from winning the opening game of their weekend series against the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs on Saturday, April 13.

The Huskies started their day with a 6:30 AM departure for the Woodside Sports Complex in Mauston, Wis., then discovered upon their arrival that the field needed some extra will power in order to be ready for Saturday's NSIC contest against Minnesota Duluth.

In a comment following SCSU's work day, senior pitcher Ryan Wesely stated, "Coach Dolan told us three things before we started our day of shoveling, 1. Don't tell me we're not playing today, 2. Don't tell us we can't shovel all of this ice and snow, and 3. Have fun, don't lose."
SCSU and UMD were initially scheduled to play a four-game set, with two games to be played on Saturday, but the inclement weather conditions forced the teams to play one game at 5 PM.

Before and after 🤘
First pitch between #9 SCSU and Minnesota Duluth is slotted for 5 PM tonight. #unleashGRIT pic.twitter.com/9qO7afLloG
— St. Cloud State Baseball (@SCSUHUSKIES_BB) April 13, 2019

Hey @UMDBaseball... let's play ball‼️ The field is clear and we are set to play one game tonight at 5 PM in Mauston, Wis. #unleashGRIT pic.twitter.com/g9lwNXDced
— St. Cloud State Baseball (@SCSUHUSKIES_BB) April 13, 2019

With snow flurries falling at first pitch, the initial three innings were a slugfest that included both teams trading punches, including two solo homeruns from UMD and one by SCSU's Caeden Harris for his first of the year. Minnesota Duluth held a 2-1 advantage through the first four innings before the Huskies were able to post a four-run fifth inning that spurred from a two-out rally started by Ethan Ibarra.
Ibarra singled to left before Najee Gaskins ripped a triple down the 1st base line to tie the game 2-2. Lenny Walker double home Gaskins to give SCSU a 3-2 advantage, then Mitch Mallek's seventh homer of the year put the Huskies up 5-2.
Cal Giese (4-1) recorded his 20th career win in his five innings of work that included three strikeouts. Shannon Ahern relieved Giese in the sixth, then closed the game with four shutout innings to pick up his second save of the season.
SCSU added one more in the seventh to make it a 6-2 ballgame after Najee Gaskins scored on a wild pitch.
Caeden Harris, Najee Gaskins and Mitch Mallek each had multi-hit games while SCSU out-hit UMD 10-9 in game one.

SCSU and Minnesota Duluth will resume action with a double header starting at 1 PM on Sunday, April 14 at the Woodside Sports Complex in Mauston, Wis.

Postgame with Head Coach Pat Dolan following SCSU's work day on the field and 6-2 victory over UMD. #unleashGRIT pic.twitter.com/pr4uzsMqDK
— St. Cloud State Baseball (@SCSUHUSKIES_BB) April 14, 2019

Caeden Harris gives a rundown of his shoveling responsibilities for the day as well as his day at the plate which included 1 HR and two doubles. #unleashGRIT pic.twitter.com/mGsUP6XNPU
— St. Cloud State Baseball (@SCSUHUSKIES_BB) April 14, 2019