Friday, February 3
Joplin, Mo.
Noon CT
St. Cloud State
1-0
17
vs
0
Southwest Baptist
0-1
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2
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4
5
6
7
R
H
E
St. Cloud State
1
0
0
0
2
14
0
17
10
1
Southwest Baptist
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
6
Photo by: Kaitlyn Zuehl
(RV) Huskies earn Opening Day split in Joplin
2/3/2023 11:15:00 PM | Baseball
St. Cloud State drops Southwest Baptist 17-0 before falling 2-1 to Missouri Southern
JOPLIN, Mo. – (RV) St. Cloud State Baseball opened their 2023 season with an Opening Day split, thumping Southwest Baptist 17-0 before dropping a 2-1 pitchers' duel to Missouri Southern State at Warren Turner Field in Joplin.
The Huskies' pitching shined as SCSU received a pair of stellar starts from Riley Ahern and Ethan Lanthier, combining for 10.0 innings of two-run ball with 17 strikeouts and just three walks. Four relievers combined to deal 5.0 scoreless innings, scattering four hits and two walks to set the tone on the hill.
Game One | (RV) St. Cloud State 17, Southwest Baptist 0
A 14 run outburst in the sixth inning fueled a 17-0 romp of Southwest Baptist as St. Cloud State enjoyed their highest-scoring Opening Day contest since 2018, piling up 10 hits and drawing nine walks in the win.
The shutout was the first on Opening Day for the Huskies since 2015 and the 14-run sixth marks the highest-scoring frame of the Dolan era.
John Nett (3-for-4, 4 R, HR, 3 RBI) set the table with a monster day at the dish while Sam Riola (1-for-5, 2 R, 4 RBI) plated four runs, Ben Clapp (1-for-2, R, 3 RBI) added three RBI of his own and Drew Bulson (1-for-1, 2 BB) reached in all three trips.
Riley Ahern was brilliant in his first career Opening Day start, striking out nine batters over 5.0 scoreless innings of two-hit ball. The righthander attacked the zone with his fastball, piling up 15 swinging strikes 83 pitches while walking just two.
Nett set the tone early for the Huskies, blasting a leadoff homer on the third pitch he saw – becoming the first Husky in the Dolan era to lead off a season with a home run. The SCSU bats were quiet the next three frames, leaving a runner on in each inning.
Tyler Schiller (0-for-1, 2 BB, R) drew a walk to open the fifth, advancing to second as Nett reached on an error. Tate Wallat (0-for-0, 2 BB, RBI, SH, SF) moved both runners ahead 90 feet with a sacrifice bunt, then Riola plated Schiller with a groundout. Sawyer Smith (1-for-4, BB, 2 R, RBI) punched an RBI single into left to make it a 3-0 game.
Five hits, four walks, three hit batsmen and five Bearcat errors provided the damage in a 14 run sixth inning. The Huskies batted around twice, sending 20 men to the plate.
Drew Beier tossed a scoreless sixth inning, allowing a leadoff single before promptly inducing a ground ball double play and a flyout. Cooper Avery finished things out in the seventh, striking out one while working around a walk and a hit batsman to record a scoreless inning of relief.
Game One Notables
The second game of the day provided a strong test for St. Cloud State in regional rival Missouri Southern State. Ethan Lanthier threw well in a duel with the Lions' starter, but the Huskies struggled to provide run support in a 2-1 loss.
Lanthier struck out six over 5.0 innings, allowing two runs on three hits and one walk. The hard-throwing righty recorded 11 swinging strikes on 78 pitches – flashing his plus stuff – and exited in the sixth with just one run on his line.
John Nett (1-for-3, BB) singled to open the game to provide one of just three hits allowed by Cole Woods. The MSSU righthander struck out nine Huskies across 6.0 innings of scoreless baseball, throwing 104 pitches to cover his outing.
Missouri Southern struck first with a solo homer in the fourth, adding a run in the sixth. The Lions bullpen kept the Huskies scoreless until the ninth, when Sawyer Smith (0-for-4, RBI) grounded out to plate pinch runner Brayden Jacobson.
Grady Fuchs threw extremely well in relief of Lanthier, firing 3.0 scoreless innings of two-hit ball with one walk and three strikeouts.
Game Two Notables
Up Next
The Huskies match back up with Southwest Baptist at 3:00 p.m. CT on Saturday in Joplin.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Baseball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The Huskies' pitching shined as SCSU received a pair of stellar starts from Riley Ahern and Ethan Lanthier, combining for 10.0 innings of two-run ball with 17 strikeouts and just three walks. Four relievers combined to deal 5.0 scoreless innings, scattering four hits and two walks to set the tone on the hill.
Game One | (RV) St. Cloud State 17, Southwest Baptist 0
A 14 run outburst in the sixth inning fueled a 17-0 romp of Southwest Baptist as St. Cloud State enjoyed their highest-scoring Opening Day contest since 2018, piling up 10 hits and drawing nine walks in the win.
The shutout was the first on Opening Day for the Huskies since 2015 and the 14-run sixth marks the highest-scoring frame of the Dolan era.
John Nett (3-for-4, 4 R, HR, 3 RBI) set the table with a monster day at the dish while Sam Riola (1-for-5, 2 R, 4 RBI) plated four runs, Ben Clapp (1-for-2, R, 3 RBI) added three RBI of his own and Drew Bulson (1-for-1, 2 BB) reached in all three trips.
Riley Ahern was brilliant in his first career Opening Day start, striking out nine batters over 5.0 scoreless innings of two-hit ball. The righthander attacked the zone with his fastball, piling up 15 swinging strikes 83 pitches while walking just two.
Nett set the tone early for the Huskies, blasting a leadoff homer on the third pitch he saw – becoming the first Husky in the Dolan era to lead off a season with a home run. The SCSU bats were quiet the next three frames, leaving a runner on in each inning.
Tyler Schiller (0-for-1, 2 BB, R) drew a walk to open the fifth, advancing to second as Nett reached on an error. Tate Wallat (0-for-0, 2 BB, RBI, SH, SF) moved both runners ahead 90 feet with a sacrifice bunt, then Riola plated Schiller with a groundout. Sawyer Smith (1-for-4, BB, 2 R, RBI) punched an RBI single into left to make it a 3-0 game.
Five hits, four walks, three hit batsmen and five Bearcat errors provided the damage in a 14 run sixth inning. The Huskies batted around twice, sending 20 men to the plate.
Drew Beier tossed a scoreless sixth inning, allowing a leadoff single before promptly inducing a ground ball double play and a flyout. Cooper Avery finished things out in the seventh, striking out one while working around a walk and a hit batsman to record a scoreless inning of relief.
Game One Notables
- John Nett hit a leadoff home run and went 3-for-4 with four runs scored and three RBI
- Sam Riola went 1-for-5, scored twice and drove in four
- Drew Bulson reached in all three trips, working a pair of walks while going 1-for-1 and throwing out a runner behind the plate
- Ben Clapp, Noah Dehne and Otto Grimm each recorded their first base hit as a Husky
- Riley Ahern earned his first win of the season with 5.0 scoreless innings of work, striking out nine while scattering two hits and a pair of walks
- St. Cloud State drew nine walks and produced three extra-base hits
The second game of the day provided a strong test for St. Cloud State in regional rival Missouri Southern State. Ethan Lanthier threw well in a duel with the Lions' starter, but the Huskies struggled to provide run support in a 2-1 loss.
Lanthier struck out six over 5.0 innings, allowing two runs on three hits and one walk. The hard-throwing righty recorded 11 swinging strikes on 78 pitches – flashing his plus stuff – and exited in the sixth with just one run on his line.
John Nett (1-for-3, BB) singled to open the game to provide one of just three hits allowed by Cole Woods. The MSSU righthander struck out nine Huskies across 6.0 innings of scoreless baseball, throwing 104 pitches to cover his outing.
Missouri Southern struck first with a solo homer in the fourth, adding a run in the sixth. The Lions bullpen kept the Huskies scoreless until the ninth, when Sawyer Smith (0-for-4, RBI) grounded out to plate pinch runner Brayden Jacobson.
Grady Fuchs threw extremely well in relief of Lanthier, firing 3.0 scoreless innings of two-hit ball with one walk and three strikeouts.
Game Two Notables
- Ethan Lanthier threw 5.0 innings of two-run ball, scattering three hits and a walk while striking out six
- Grady Fuchs tossed 3.0 scoreless out of the bullpen, striking out three while permitting just two hits and a walk
- Ethan Navratil went 2-for-2 with a double
- John Nett went 1-for-3 and drew a walk to reach twice
- Tate Wallat went 1-for-4 with a double
Up Next
The Huskies match back up with Southwest Baptist at 3:00 p.m. CT on Saturday in Joplin.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Baseball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ahern, Riley (1-0)
L: C Van Every (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Nett, John 1 ; Dehne, Noah 1
HR: Nett, John 1
RBI: Nett, John 3 ; Wallat, Tate 1 ; Riola, Sam 4 ; Smith, Sawyer 1 ; Grimm, Otto 1 ; Clapp, Ben 3 ; Gumbko, Mitchell 1
SH: Wallat, Tate 1
SF: Wallat, Tate 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nett, John 4 ; Dehne, Noah 1 ; Riola, Sam 2 ; Smith, Sawyer 2 ; Grimm, Otto 1 ; Clapp, Ben 1 ; Jacobson, Brayden 1 ; Navratil, Ethan 2 ; Schiller, Tyler 2 ; Gumbko, Mitchell 1
SB: Jacobson, Brayden 1
HBP: Nett, John 1 ; Smith, Sawyer 1 ; Grimm, Otto 1 ; Navratil, Ethan 1
Batting:
2B: Charchun, K 1
Base Running:
CS: K Lewis 1
HBP: Luna, A 1
Game Leaders
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H
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RBI
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AB
4
R
2
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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/ BaseballSt Cloud State Baseball Vs Southwest Minnesota State Game 4
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Sunday, March 16
St Cloud State Baseball Vs Southwest Minnesota State Game 2
Thursday, March 13
St Cloud State Baseball Vs Southwest Minnesota State Game 1
Thursday, March 13
