Riola’s gem, early offense guides SCSU to series win at Winona State

Monday, April 3

Winona, Minn.

Noon CT

St. Cloud State

15-10, 7-3

Winona State

11-17, 7-6

St. Cloud State

Winona State

Photo by: Ryan Roehl

Riola’s gem, early offense guides SCSU to series win at Winona State

4/3/2023 4:30:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Riola strikes out six over 6.0 innings, lineup plates all eight runs in first five innings as Huskies take finale 8-5

WINONA, Minn – St. Cloud State Baseball (15-10, 7-3 NSIC) picked up a fantastic start from redshirt senior righthander Sam Riola while the lineup supplied plenty of early run support in an 8-5 win over Winona State (11-17, 7-6 NSIC) in Winona on Monday afternoon, securing a road series victory. The Huskies will enter the midweek fourth in the NSIC standings, half a game behind Minnesota Crookston.

Sam Riola spun a gem for his second win of the season, allowing a lone earned run across 6.0 innings of eight-hit baseball. The righthander struck out six and walked just one while going 2-for-4 at the plate with a double, a run scored, an RBI and two stolen bases.

SCSU got on the board early as John Nett (1-for-4, HBP, 2 R, RBI) reached on an error to lead off the game and scored two batters later on a Riola RBI double. After Garrett Bevacqua (2-for-5, R, 2B, 2 RBI) moved Riola ahead with a groundout, Drew Bulson (1-for-3, 2 BB, RBI) plated him on a single to left.

Winona State responded with a run in the first and tied the game at two in the second. The Huskies plated three an inning later as Bevacqua doubled home Nett and Drew Beier (1-for-4, HBP, 2 R, HR, RBI) before scoring on a Tyler Schiller (1-for-3, BB, RBI, SF) sacrifice fly.

Beier crushed a solo home run out to right with two away in the fourth inning, then St. Cloud State added a pair in the fifth to take an 8-2 lead into the home half.

Ethan Lanthier took over in the seventh and proceeded to fire a 3.0-inning save, allowing a lone run on two hits while striking out four batters.

Up Next
SCSU is scheduled to play Minnesota State-Mankato in a home midweek doubleheader, subject to weather, on Wednesday.

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Baseball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.