Saturday, May 13
Mandan, N.D.
10:30 a.m. CT
St. Cloud State
31-17
7
vs
3
Minnesota State-Mankato
37-14
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6
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9
R
H
E
St. Cloud State
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
1
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7
12
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Minnesota State
0
0
2
0
0
0
1
0
0
3
6
2
Photo by: Thomas Breach
Huskies down Mavericks 7-3 to advance to Championship Sunday
5/13/2023 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
Tupy and Lanthier brilliant as lineup produces two crooked numbers, sends MSU-Mankato to elimination bracket
MANDAN, N.D. – St. Cloud State Baseball (31-17, 20-10 NSIC) continued their incredible run at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament with a 7-3 win over Minnesota State-Mankato (37-14, 25-8 NSIC) in the semifinal round on Saturday afternoon in Mandan, advancing to Championship Sunday in need of just one more win to clinch a conference title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Luke Tupy set the tone on the mound with an incredibly gutsy effort, pitching into the seventh and finishing with 6.1 frames of three-run ball. The lefthander struck out five while scattering five hits and three walks, battling pitch-for-pitch with Maverick righty Chandler Fochs.
The Huskies opened the scoring with a three spot in the second. Ethan Navratil (1-for-4, BB, R, HR, RBI) led off with a walk before being retired at second on a fielder's choice. Kevin Butler (2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI) followed by lacing an RBI double down the left field line, plating Brayden Jacobson (0-for-4, R). In the next at-bat, Mitchell Gumbko (1-for-3, R, SAC) bounced a chopper to third – the Maverick third baseman handled it but fired his throw into the baseline, skipping the ball off both Gumbko and the first baseman's glove all the way down the line. Butler scored while Gumbko advanced to third, then John Nett (2-for-5, RBI) capped the scoring with an RBI single into right.
Mankato responded two innings later with a two-run homer, cutting the Huskies lead to 3-2. Tupy worked around traffic to keep the Mavericks off the board over the next three frames with some help from a pair of phenomenal diving stops by third baseman Tate Wallat (2-for-3, HBP, R).
After a one-out single in the seventh, the Huskies gave the ball to Ethan Lanthier. The sophomore flamethrower put a pair on then surrendered a single into right to plate the tying run. Jacobson came up firing after fielding it cleanly in right and fired a strike home to nail the go-ahead runner trying to score. Lanthier struck out the Maverick cleanup man to leave two on and keep the game knotted at three through seven.
With two outs in the top of the eighth, Navratil launched a two-strike solo homer down the left field line to put the Huskies right back on top. SCSU tacked on three more with two outs in the ninth – sparked by Sam Riola (1-for-4, BB, R) drawing an eight-pitch walk with two down on a 3-2 count to fill the bases. Sawyer Smith (1-for-4, BB, RBI) watched ball four go by on another 3-2 count to make it 5-3, then Ben Clapp (2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI) singled in a pair for the decisive 7-3 advantage.
Lanthier would retire the final seven men he faced, earning the win in relief with 2.2 innings of one-hit, one-walk work while striking out five.
Up Next
St. Cloud State will await their opponent for Championship Sunday with game one scheduled for 11:00 a.m. CT at BNC Field in Mandan. The Huskies need just one win to clinch the 2023 NSIC Championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Baseball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Luke Tupy set the tone on the mound with an incredibly gutsy effort, pitching into the seventh and finishing with 6.1 frames of three-run ball. The lefthander struck out five while scattering five hits and three walks, battling pitch-for-pitch with Maverick righty Chandler Fochs.
The Huskies opened the scoring with a three spot in the second. Ethan Navratil (1-for-4, BB, R, HR, RBI) led off with a walk before being retired at second on a fielder's choice. Kevin Butler (2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI) followed by lacing an RBI double down the left field line, plating Brayden Jacobson (0-for-4, R). In the next at-bat, Mitchell Gumbko (1-for-3, R, SAC) bounced a chopper to third – the Maverick third baseman handled it but fired his throw into the baseline, skipping the ball off both Gumbko and the first baseman's glove all the way down the line. Butler scored while Gumbko advanced to third, then John Nett (2-for-5, RBI) capped the scoring with an RBI single into right.
Mankato responded two innings later with a two-run homer, cutting the Huskies lead to 3-2. Tupy worked around traffic to keep the Mavericks off the board over the next three frames with some help from a pair of phenomenal diving stops by third baseman Tate Wallat (2-for-3, HBP, R).
After a one-out single in the seventh, the Huskies gave the ball to Ethan Lanthier. The sophomore flamethrower put a pair on then surrendered a single into right to plate the tying run. Jacobson came up firing after fielding it cleanly in right and fired a strike home to nail the go-ahead runner trying to score. Lanthier struck out the Maverick cleanup man to leave two on and keep the game knotted at three through seven.
With two outs in the top of the eighth, Navratil launched a two-strike solo homer down the left field line to put the Huskies right back on top. SCSU tacked on three more with two outs in the ninth – sparked by Sam Riola (1-for-4, BB, R) drawing an eight-pitch walk with two down on a 3-2 count to fill the bases. Sawyer Smith (1-for-4, BB, RBI) watched ball four go by on another 3-2 count to make it 5-3, then Ben Clapp (2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI) singled in a pair for the decisive 7-3 advantage.
Lanthier would retire the final seven men he faced, earning the win in relief with 2.2 innings of one-hit, one-walk work while striking out five.
Up Next
St. Cloud State will await their opponent for Championship Sunday with game one scheduled for 11:00 a.m. CT at BNC Field in Mandan. The Huskies need just one win to clinch the 2023 NSIC Championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
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: Lanthier, Ethan (1-2)
L: Fochs, Chandler (6-2)
Batting:
2B: Clapp, Ben 1 ; Butler, Kevin 1
HR: Navratil, Ethan 1
RBI: Nett, John 1 ; Smith, Sawyer 1 ; Clapp, Ben 2 ; Navratil, Ethan 1 ; Butler, Kevin 1
SH: Gumbko, Mitchell 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Riola, Sam 1 ; Navratil, Ethan 1 ; Jacobson, Brayden 1 ; Butler, Kevin 2 ; Wallat, Tate 1 ; Gumbko, Mitchell 1
HBP: Wallat, Tate 1
Batting:
HR: Hauge, Jackson 1
RBI: Hauge, Jackson 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Byrne, Aidan 1 ; Hauge, Jackson 1 ; Ranweiler, Hunter 1
SB: Byrne, Aidan 1
HBP: Byrne, Aidan 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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OF
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IF/OF
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RHP
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IF
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IF/RHP
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IF
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