Breen’s go-ahead double, Schiller’s three-hit day fuels SCSU weekend sweep in thrilling win over Wolves

Sunday, May 2

Aberdeen, SD

12:00 p.m.

St. Cloud State

Northern State University

Photo by: Thomas Breach

Breen’s go-ahead double, Schiller’s three-hit day fuels SCSU weekend sweep in thrilling win over Wolves

5/2/2021 4:15:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

C.J. Breen smacked the go-ahead double in the eighth and Tyler Schiller recorded a three-hit afternoon as St. Cloud State Baseball (19-11, 17-8 NSIC) defeated Northern State (15-19, 14-16 NSIC) by a 6-5 final in a hotly contested Sunday series finale. The Huskies have now extended their winning streak to four games and have won nine of their last ten games headed into the final week of the regular season.

"We knew going in it was going to be a battle facing Brewer," said head coach Pat Dolan, "Fortunately we got his pitch count high and got him out in the seventh. It was nice to win a back-and-forth game, which we've traditionally done well in but this year we've come up short so many times in one-run losses. Hopefully this gives us more momentum going into the final week of regular season and postseason play."

The Huskies began Sunday's finale with a tally in the first as Paul Steffensen (2-for-5, 2 R, 3B, RBI) blasted a one-out triple to right-center and scored on a Tate Wallat (1-for-4, BB, RBI) single dumped into shallow left-center. Northern State struck back in the home half, tying the game at one.

Max Gamm (1-for-3, 2 BB, R, SB) began the second by watching four straight balls go by and promptly stole second. Tyler Schiller (3-for-5, 2 R) legged out an infield single, moving Gamm to third. Drew Bulson (1-for-3, RBI) laced an RBI single through the left side, then Lenny Walker (0-for-1, BB) drew a 10-pitch walk to load the bases. John Nett (1-for-2, 2 BB, R, RBI, SF) lifted a sacrifice fly to center, giving SCSU a 3-1 lead.

The Wolves scored a pair of runs, one earned and one unearned, in the third to tie things at 3-3 and tacked on one more in the fifth to take a 4-3 lead.

Nett drew a walk to open the seventh, then scampered to second on a wild pitch. Steffensen laced an RBI single to right, knotting the game at 4-4 before advancing 90 feet on another wild pitch. After a strikeout, Jake Shusterich (1-for-4, BB, 2B, RBI) roped a go-ahead double down the left field line, plating Steffensen.

Northern State responded with a run in the bottom of the seventh and loaded the bases with one out, only to have the Huskies' Riley Ahern enter and induce an inning-ending double play, preserving a 5-5 game.

Schiller led off the eighth with a single sent back up the middle. A strikeout brought pinch-hitter C.J. Breen (1-for-1, 2B, RBI) to the plate with one retired. Breen belted an RBI double to right-center, scoring Schiller and giving SCSU the lead.

NSU loaded the bases again with just one away in the bottom of the eighth, and the Huskies turned to Mack Larson out of the pen. The senior righthander escaped the jam, getting a shallow flyout and a popout to save the St. Cloud State lead.

Larson would go on to earn the save, going 1.2 innings of scoreless baseball, allowing just one baserunner on a walk. Ahern picked up the win in relief with 1.0 scoreless frame.

Jack Habeck received a no-decision after going 5.0 innings of four-hit, four-walk baseball with one strikeout while allowing three earned.

The Huskies play their 2021 road finale on Wednesday, May 5 with a two-game midweek series at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. CST at Bismarck Municipal Stadium.