Saturday, April 24
St. Cloud, MN
1:30 p.m.
St. Cloud State
13-10, 0
9
vs
0
University of Minnesota Crookston
17-4, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Minnesota-Crookston
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
3
St. Cloud State
0
1
0
0
3
5
X
9
12
0
Photo by: Tom Nelson
Dolan reaches 500, Osterberg and Koenig’s career outings lead SCSU to Saturday sweep of No. 24 Minnesota-Crookston
4/24/2021 8:45:00 PM | Baseball
Incredible starts by junior southpaws Matt Osterberg and Trevor Koenig guided St. Cloud State Baseball (14-10, 12-7 NSIC) to a Saturday sweep of No. 24 Minnesota-Crookston in the series-opening afternoon doubleheader. Game one's 9-0 win provided head coach Pat Dolan with his 500th victory at the helm of Huskies Baseball, adding yet another accolade to the program's winningest coach's mantle, while game two's 8-1 final clinched a series win for SCSU.
The Huskies outscored Minnesota-Crookston 17-1 on the day and limited them to just three hits.
Game One: Huskies 9, No. 24 Golden Eagles 0
Huskies ace Matt Osterberg turned in his finest outing of the 2021 season, working 6.0 shutout innings of one-hit, two-walk baseball on just 82 pitches. The lefthander struck out a career-high 13 batters on the way to earning his second win. Osterberg's stuff overpowered the Golden Eagles, as he racked up an improbable 28 whiffs for a downright obscene 34.2% swinging strike rate. He worked an immaculate inning in the third, striking out the side on nine pitches with six whiffs.
The SCSU lineup backed up Osterberg early, as Jake Shusterich (2-for-2, 2 BB, R, 2 2B, 3 RBI) stayed hot with a leadoff double in the second. Matt Quade (1-for-4, 2B, RBI) followed suit with a double to right-center, plating Shusterich.
With Osterberg dealing through five, Paul Steffensen (2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, 2 SB) led off the home half of the frame with a double dumped down the left field line then stole third after a popout. Lenny Walker (1-for-1, R, 2B, RBI) poked a pinch-hit RBI double to right and promptly scored on a John Nett (2-for-3, HBP, R, 3B, RBI) RBI single. The Huskies' centerfielder was picked off, leaving the bases empty with two away for Max Gamm (2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, SB). On the very first pitch of his plate appearance, Gamm singled deep in the hole to shortstop. Taking a long lead at first, Gamm drew an errant pickoff throw. UMC's first baseman scrambled to get to the ball and fired it into left. Gamm never stopped running, racing around third and sliding headfirst under the tag at home to give the Huskies a 4-0 lead.
In the sixth, Tyler Schiller (0-for-3, R) reached on a wild pitch third strike to lead off the frame. Steffensen singled to left-center, then two batters later Parker Savard (1-for-1) blooped a single into right-center but overran Steffensen, leaving Schiller and Steffensen on the corners. The latter stole second before Nett was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Gamm rolled an RBI infield single up the middle off the second base bag that was fumbled by the Golden Eagles, allowing a second run to score. Gamm then swiped third, Tate Wallat (1-for-3, BB, R, 2B) drew a walk and Shusterich unloaded the bases with a three-run double, providing SCSU with their decisive 9-0 advantage.
Eli Emerson closed things out with a scoreless seventh, working around a walk.
Game Two: Huskies 8, No. 24 Golden Eagles 1
Trevor Koenig secured the Saturday sweep with perhaps his best outing in a Huskies uniform, covering a career-high 8.1 innings of two-hit, one-run baseball while walking three and striking out a career-high 10 batters. The lefthander piled up 27 swinging strikes on 101 pitches, working at an insane 26.7% whiff rate to earn his second win of 2021. Koenig closed out his start by retiring the last 15 batters he faced.
St. Cloud State opened the scoring in the first with a fantastic display of two-out hitting. Wallat worked a six-pitch two-out walk and was quickly moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Shusterich sent a blistering ball back up the middle to score Wallat and advanced to second on the throw home. Quade drew a walk, then Schiller blasted a two-run double into the left-center alley, giving the Huskies a 3-0 lead.
Minnesota-Crookston scored one in the third, but SCSU promptly got it back in the fourth as Drew Bulson belted a one-out double to deep right and scored on a Nett run-scoring single.
Shusterich opened the fifth with a walk and came all the way around to score thanks to a Quade double to right-center. Two batters later Steffensen smacked a single to the same alley, plating Quade and putting SCSU up 6-1.
The Huskies provided Koenig with a few more insurance runs in the eighth, as Steffensen singled to open the frame and both Nett and Gamm drew two-out walks to load the bases for Wallat. St. Cloud State's third baseman roped a two-run single through the hole on the right side, closing out the scoring.
Riley Ahern made his season debut in the ninth, striking out both batters he faced to secure the win.
Up Next
St. Cloud State and No. 24 Minnesota-Crookston are scheduled to wrap up their series on Sunday, April 25 with an 11:00 a.m. CST finale. The game will be broadcast on the NSIC Network with Live Stats provided by SCSU.
The Huskies outscored Minnesota-Crookston 17-1 on the day and limited them to just three hits.
Game One: Huskies 9, No. 24 Golden Eagles 0
Huskies ace Matt Osterberg turned in his finest outing of the 2021 season, working 6.0 shutout innings of one-hit, two-walk baseball on just 82 pitches. The lefthander struck out a career-high 13 batters on the way to earning his second win. Osterberg's stuff overpowered the Golden Eagles, as he racked up an improbable 28 whiffs for a downright obscene 34.2% swinging strike rate. He worked an immaculate inning in the third, striking out the side on nine pitches with six whiffs.
The SCSU lineup backed up Osterberg early, as Jake Shusterich (2-for-2, 2 BB, R, 2 2B, 3 RBI) stayed hot with a leadoff double in the second. Matt Quade (1-for-4, 2B, RBI) followed suit with a double to right-center, plating Shusterich.
With Osterberg dealing through five, Paul Steffensen (2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, 2 SB) led off the home half of the frame with a double dumped down the left field line then stole third after a popout. Lenny Walker (1-for-1, R, 2B, RBI) poked a pinch-hit RBI double to right and promptly scored on a John Nett (2-for-3, HBP, R, 3B, RBI) RBI single. The Huskies' centerfielder was picked off, leaving the bases empty with two away for Max Gamm (2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, SB). On the very first pitch of his plate appearance, Gamm singled deep in the hole to shortstop. Taking a long lead at first, Gamm drew an errant pickoff throw. UMC's first baseman scrambled to get to the ball and fired it into left. Gamm never stopped running, racing around third and sliding headfirst under the tag at home to give the Huskies a 4-0 lead.
In the sixth, Tyler Schiller (0-for-3, R) reached on a wild pitch third strike to lead off the frame. Steffensen singled to left-center, then two batters later Parker Savard (1-for-1) blooped a single into right-center but overran Steffensen, leaving Schiller and Steffensen on the corners. The latter stole second before Nett was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Gamm rolled an RBI infield single up the middle off the second base bag that was fumbled by the Golden Eagles, allowing a second run to score. Gamm then swiped third, Tate Wallat (1-for-3, BB, R, 2B) drew a walk and Shusterich unloaded the bases with a three-run double, providing SCSU with their decisive 9-0 advantage.
Eli Emerson closed things out with a scoreless seventh, working around a walk.
Game Two: Huskies 8, No. 24 Golden Eagles 1
Trevor Koenig secured the Saturday sweep with perhaps his best outing in a Huskies uniform, covering a career-high 8.1 innings of two-hit, one-run baseball while walking three and striking out a career-high 10 batters. The lefthander piled up 27 swinging strikes on 101 pitches, working at an insane 26.7% whiff rate to earn his second win of 2021. Koenig closed out his start by retiring the last 15 batters he faced.
St. Cloud State opened the scoring in the first with a fantastic display of two-out hitting. Wallat worked a six-pitch two-out walk and was quickly moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Shusterich sent a blistering ball back up the middle to score Wallat and advanced to second on the throw home. Quade drew a walk, then Schiller blasted a two-run double into the left-center alley, giving the Huskies a 3-0 lead.
Minnesota-Crookston scored one in the third, but SCSU promptly got it back in the fourth as Drew Bulson belted a one-out double to deep right and scored on a Nett run-scoring single.
Shusterich opened the fifth with a walk and came all the way around to score thanks to a Quade double to right-center. Two batters later Steffensen smacked a single to the same alley, plating Quade and putting SCSU up 6-1.
The Huskies provided Koenig with a few more insurance runs in the eighth, as Steffensen singled to open the frame and both Nett and Gamm drew two-out walks to load the bases for Wallat. St. Cloud State's third baseman roped a two-run single through the hole on the right side, closing out the scoring.
Riley Ahern made his season debut in the ninth, striking out both batters he faced to secure the win.
Up Next
St. Cloud State and No. 24 Minnesota-Crookston are scheduled to wrap up their series on Sunday, April 25 with an 11:00 a.m. CST finale. The game will be broadcast on the NSIC Network with Live Stats provided by SCSU.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Osterberg, Matt (2-2)
L: Richardson, Conner (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Ruhlman, Mason 1
Batting:
2B: Wallat, Tate 1 ; Shusterich, Jake 2 ; Quade, Matt 1 ; Steffensen, Paul 1 ; Walker, Lenny 1
3B: Nett, John 1
RBI: Nett, John 1 ; Gamm, Max 1 ; Shusterich, Jake 3 ; Quade, Matt 1 ; Walker, Lenny 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nett, John 1 ; Gamm, Max 2 ; Wallat, Tate 1 ; Shusterich, Jake 1 ; Schiller, Tyler 1 ; Steffensen, Paul 2 ; Walker, Lenny 1
SB: Gamm, Max 1 ; Steffensen, Paul 2
CS: Nett, John 1
HBP: Nett, John 1
PO: Nett, John 1
Game Leaders
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RBI
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3
R
2
H
2
RBI
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