Huskies wrangle Mustangs to advance in NSIC Tournament

Wednesday, May 10

Bismarck, N.D.

Noon CT

St. Cloud State

29-17

Southwest Minnesota State

27-16

Southwest Minnesota

St. Cloud State

Photo by: Thomas Breach

5/10/2023 4:25:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Ahern’s strong start, Riola’s three-hit game keys SCSU Opening Round win

BISMARCK, N.D. – St. Cloud State Baseball (29-17, 20-10 NSIC) used a strong start from righthander Riley Ahern coupled with a string of clutch hitting to dispatch Southwest Minnesota State (27-16, 19-13 NSIC) 10-3 in the Opening Round of the 2023 NSIC Tournament on Wednesday afternoon in Bismarck. With the win, the Huskies advance to a quarterfinal matchup with top seed Augustana on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. CT.

Riley Ahern dealt over 5.0 innings of two-run ball to earn his seventh win of the season, scattering seven hits while walking none and striking out five. The righthander fired 60 strikes on 85 pitches, gutting through traffic early by turning a pair of key double plays.

The SCSU lineup opened the scoring early as John Nett (1-for-3, 2 BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB) drew a leadoff walk then Sawyer Smith (1-for-3, 2 BB, 2 R) singled and Ben Clapp (0-for-3, BB) walked to fill the bases with one away. Following a popout, Brayden Jacobson (1-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI) laced a two-run double into left center.

Sam Riola (3-for-5, R, 2 RBI) singled in a third run an inning later after Tate Wallat (1-for-2, BB, 2 R) walked, moved to second on a Mitchell Gumbko (2-for-3, R, SB) sacrifice bunt and advanced to third on a Nett groundout. The Huskies pushed it to 4-0 in the fourth as Noah Dehne (1-for-2, R, 2B) doubled, moved to second on a Gumbko single then scored on an errant throw as the latter swiped second.

SMSU cut their deficit to two with a two-run homer in the fifth. Drew Beier took over for the Huskies in the sixth and recorded his first hold of the season after firing 3.0 frames of two-hit ball, allowing one run while walking one and punching out four.

The Huskies made it 5-2 in the seventh as Riola scored on a wild pitch. Southwest responded with a solo shot in the top of the eighth then worked a one-out walk to put the tying run at the plate. After Beier induced a popout, Gumbko ended the inning with an incredible diving play down the left field line.

St. Cloud State blew the game open with a five-run fifth sparked by a two-run Nett single and RBI knocks from Riola and Kevin Butler (1-for-1, RBI).

Cooper Avery closed things out with a scoreless ninth, working around a lone infield single.

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