Saturday, April 8
Wayne, Neb.
1:00 p.m. CT
St. Cloud State
17-11, 9-4
8
vs
7
Concordia-St. Paul
12-15, 8-6
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Concordia-St. Paul
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
0
3
7
15
3
St. Cloud State
1
0
0
3
0
1
0
0
3
8
10
3
Photo by: Kaitlyn Zuehl
Heroic ninth gives Huskies walk-off series win
4/8/2023 5:05:00 PM | Baseball
Navratil, Smith spark three-run rally as St. Cloud State takes key weekend set from CSP
WAYNE, Neb. – In a wild series finale on Saturday afternoon at the Wayne Ball Park, sophomore shortstop Sawyer Smith (1-for-4, BB, 2 R, RBI) and St. Cloud State Baseball (17-11, 9-4 NSIC) walked off Concordia-St. Paul (12-15, 8-6 NSIC) to take the weekend finale 8-7 and earn a critical series win. SCSU jumps Minnesota Crookston for third in the NSIC standings entering the midweek, now sitting two games behind Minnesota State-Mankato.
Jack Habeck pitched deep into his Saturday start, eating up innings and saving a taxed bullpen. The lefthander exited in line for the win after going 6.2 frames of four-run ball, scattering 10 hits while walking none and striking out four.
The Huskies opened the scoring in the first as Sam Riola (2-for-3, 2 BB, 2 R, RBI, SB) singled through the right side with one away then advanced to third on a beautifully executed hit-and-run with Drew Bulson (2-for-5) at the plate. A wild pitch brought home Riola, giving SCSU the 1-0 lead. Habeck kept the Golden Bears at bay through five scoreless frames as St. Cloud State added three insurance runs in the fourth – Smith made it 2-0 with an RBI single to plate Ethan Navratil (2-for-4, BB, 2 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI) and later scored on an errant throw by the CSP catcher following a wild pitch after John Nett (1-for-4, HBP, RBI) singled in a run.
Concordia-St. Paul slowly chipped away with a run in the sixth – responded to with a bases-loaded walk drawn by Riola a half-inning later – followed by two in the seventh. Payton VanBeck (W, 2.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) entered with two away and two on in the top of the seventh, stranding both runners on to keep it a 5-4 Huskies lead.
The Golden Bears took the lead with a three-spot in the ninth, sending things to the home half with the Huskies facing a 7-5 deficit. Riola drew a four-pitch walk to lead off the frame, then Garrett Bevacqua (1-for-5) ripped a single back up the middle to put two on for Bulson. The SCSU catcher lifted a towering flyout to the warning track in center field and both baserunners alertly tagged up and advanced as the throw went into third. Down to their last out after a lineout to center, Navratil blasted a game-tying two-run double into the right-center alley. Two pitches later, Smith bounced a ball to short that skipped off the CSP shortstop's glove, scoring Navratil with a head-first slide to walk things off in style.
Up Next
The Huskies look ahead to a midweek series scheduled to be played at Minnesota Crookston next week, subject to field conditions.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Baseball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Jack Habeck pitched deep into his Saturday start, eating up innings and saving a taxed bullpen. The lefthander exited in line for the win after going 6.2 frames of four-run ball, scattering 10 hits while walking none and striking out four.
The Huskies opened the scoring in the first as Sam Riola (2-for-3, 2 BB, 2 R, RBI, SB) singled through the right side with one away then advanced to third on a beautifully executed hit-and-run with Drew Bulson (2-for-5) at the plate. A wild pitch brought home Riola, giving SCSU the 1-0 lead. Habeck kept the Golden Bears at bay through five scoreless frames as St. Cloud State added three insurance runs in the fourth – Smith made it 2-0 with an RBI single to plate Ethan Navratil (2-for-4, BB, 2 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI) and later scored on an errant throw by the CSP catcher following a wild pitch after John Nett (1-for-4, HBP, RBI) singled in a run.
Concordia-St. Paul slowly chipped away with a run in the sixth – responded to with a bases-loaded walk drawn by Riola a half-inning later – followed by two in the seventh. Payton VanBeck (W, 2.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) entered with two away and two on in the top of the seventh, stranding both runners on to keep it a 5-4 Huskies lead.
The Golden Bears took the lead with a three-spot in the ninth, sending things to the home half with the Huskies facing a 7-5 deficit. Riola drew a four-pitch walk to lead off the frame, then Garrett Bevacqua (1-for-5) ripped a single back up the middle to put two on for Bulson. The SCSU catcher lifted a towering flyout to the warning track in center field and both baserunners alertly tagged up and advanced as the throw went into third. Down to their last out after a lineout to center, Navratil blasted a game-tying two-run double into the right-center alley. Two pitches later, Smith bounced a ball to short that skipped off the CSP shortstop's glove, scoring Navratil with a head-first slide to walk things off in style.
Up Next
The Huskies look ahead to a midweek series scheduled to be played at Minnesota Crookston next week, subject to field conditions.
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: VanBeck, Payton (2-0)
L: Lundell, E. (2-1)
Batting:
2B: Nelson, Br. 1 ; Werner, J. 1
RBI: Brohmer, K. 1 ; Thimsen, N. 1 ; Juliar, N. 1 ; Nadolney, M. 2 ; Roybal, B. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brohmer, K. 1 ; Thimsen, N. 2 ; Juliar, N. 1 ; Werner, J. 1 ; Roybal, B. 1 ; Behringer,L. 1
Batting:
2B: Navratil, Ethan 2
RBI: Nett, John 1 ; Riola, Sam 1 ; Navratil, Ethan 2 ; Smith, Sawyer 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Riola, Sam 2 ; Savard, Parker 1 ; Navratil, Ethan 2 ; Smith, Sawyer 2 ; Gumbko, Mitchell 1
SB: Riola, Sam 1
HBP: Nett, John 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
CI/OF
/ BaseballC/IF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
IF/RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
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