Friday, March 24
Council Bluffs, Iowa
7 p.m. CT
St. Cloud State
11-7, 3-0
1
vs
0
Augustana
15-11, 4-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
R
H
E
Augustana
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
St. Cloud State
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
6
0
Sam Riola spun 9.0 scoreless innings while striking out nine in Friday's win
Photo by: Ryan Roehl
Wallat walks off Augustana 1-0, Riola brilliant in weekend opener
3/24/2023 9:45:00 PM | Baseball
Tate Wallat’s walk-off single downs Augie to cap incredible pitchers’ duel
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – Redshirt junior third baseman Tate Wallat (1-for-4, RBI) provided the walk-off single as St. Cloud State Baseball (11-7, 3-0 NSIC) downed Augustana (15-11, 4-2 NSIC) 1-0 in 10 innings after a pitchers' duel for the ages between righthanders Sam Riola and Caleb Saari at Doc Ross Field in Council Bluffs, Iowa on Friday evening. The Huskies extended their winning streak to seven games with the series-opening victory and remain tied for first place in the NSIC standings.
Sam Riola spun a gem in his first start of the conference season, firing 9.0 scoreless innings while striking out nine Vikings. The righthander scattered four hits and three walks, filling up the zone with 85 strikes and 17 whiffs on 119 pitches – good for a 71.4% strike rate – before exiting a scoreless game after nine, taking a no-decision.
Riola began his night by going six up, six down through two before walking back-to-back batters on 3-2 counts to open the third. The Huskies' captain struck out the next man he faced, then surrendered a single poked into center. Augustana's runner on second attempted to score on the play, but SCSU centerfielder John Nett fired a bullet home to beat him by five feet and record the second out of the inning. Riola bore down and induced a lineup to third, ending the Augustana threat.
The zeroes kept coming on both sides as Saari matched Riola inning for inning. St. Cloud State put a runner on second with two down in the sixth but left him there, then left another man on second in the eighth.
Augustana's three-four hitters reached on back-to-back one-out singles in the ninth as Riola's pitch count climbed, but the righthander bulldogged his way through the next two hitters to punch them out swinging and send the game to the home half of the ninth.
After another scoreless frame in the home half, Riley Ahern took the ball in the tenth and retired the side in order with a pair of ground balls back to the mound followed by a backwards K.
Augie sent Saari back out for the bottom of the tenth, setting the stage for a showdown with the SCSU bottom third of the order. Drew Beier (1-for-4, R, 2B) followed a flyout with a double laced down the left field line. Wallat stepped in and fouled off the first pitch he saw. Following an offensive conference, the Huskies third baseman dug back in and lined a single into right, plating Beier to walk off Augustana 1-0.
Tyler Schiller (2-for-4) produced the lone multi-hit game for either side as the Huskies outhit Augustana 6-4.
Up Next
Games two and three are set for a Saturday doubleheader in Council Bluffs beginning at 3:30 p.m. CT.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Baseball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Sam Riola spun a gem in his first start of the conference season, firing 9.0 scoreless innings while striking out nine Vikings. The righthander scattered four hits and three walks, filling up the zone with 85 strikes and 17 whiffs on 119 pitches – good for a 71.4% strike rate – before exiting a scoreless game after nine, taking a no-decision.
Riola began his night by going six up, six down through two before walking back-to-back batters on 3-2 counts to open the third. The Huskies' captain struck out the next man he faced, then surrendered a single poked into center. Augustana's runner on second attempted to score on the play, but SCSU centerfielder John Nett fired a bullet home to beat him by five feet and record the second out of the inning. Riola bore down and induced a lineup to third, ending the Augustana threat.
The zeroes kept coming on both sides as Saari matched Riola inning for inning. St. Cloud State put a runner on second with two down in the sixth but left him there, then left another man on second in the eighth.
Augustana's three-four hitters reached on back-to-back one-out singles in the ninth as Riola's pitch count climbed, but the righthander bulldogged his way through the next two hitters to punch them out swinging and send the game to the home half of the ninth.
After another scoreless frame in the home half, Riley Ahern took the ball in the tenth and retired the side in order with a pair of ground balls back to the mound followed by a backwards K.
Augie sent Saari back out for the bottom of the tenth, setting the stage for a showdown with the SCSU bottom third of the order. Drew Beier (1-for-4, R, 2B) followed a flyout with a double laced down the left field line. Wallat stepped in and fouled off the first pitch he saw. Following an offensive conference, the Huskies third baseman dug back in and lined a single into right, plating Beier to walk off Augustana 1-0.
🗣️ WALK ME OFF ‼️
— St. Cloud State Baseball (@SCSUHuskies_BB) March 25, 2023
TATE WALLAT WITH THE WALK-OFF SINGLE TO TAKE GAME ONE ‼️#Huskyland 🐾 pic.twitter.com/Yp5zxetbEq
Tyler Schiller (2-for-4) produced the lone multi-hit game for either side as the Huskies outhit Augustana 6-4.
Up Next
Games two and three are set for a Saturday doubleheader in Council Bluffs beginning at 3:30 p.m. CT.
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 (3-1)
L: Saari, Caleb (3-2)
Batting:
2B: Dirksen, Drey 1
Batting:
2B: Beier, Drew 1
RBI: Wallat, Tate 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Beier, Drew 1
SB: Nett, John 1 ; Bevacqua, Garrett 1
HBP: Nett, John 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ BaseballRHP/IF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
IF
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