Saturday, May 20
Warrensburg, Mo.
Noon CT
St. Cloud State
33-19
5
vs
4
Ouachita Baptist
37-19
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
R
H
E
Ouachita Baptist
2
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
11
0
St. Cloud State
0
0
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
5
10
0
Drew Beier goes airborne to touch home after crushing a walk-off solo home run to eliminate Ouachita Baptist in 13 innings
Photo by: Thomas Breach
St. Cloud State’s season ends at Warrensburg Regional
5/20/2023 7:55:00 PM | Baseball
Huskies eliminate (RV) Ouachita Baptist with Beier’s 13th-inning blast, fall to No. 4 UCM
WARRENSBURG, Mo. – St. Cloud State Baseball (33-20, 20-10 NSIC) saw their season come to a close on day three of the 2023 Warrensburg Regional, beginning the afternoon by eliminating (RV) Ouachita Baptist (37-19, 23-10 GAC) in a 13-inning classic before falling to host and top-seeded No. 4 Central Missouri (43-14, 28-6 MIAA) in the nightcap on Saturday. Two-way third baseman Drew Beier launched a no-doubt walk-off homer in the 13th inning of game one to beat Ouachita Baptist 5-4 before early offense from the Mules led Central Missouri to a 6-4 win over SCSU.
St. Cloud State 5, (RV) Ouachita Baptist 4 (F/13)
Tasked with keeping the Huskies' season alive in the elimination bracket of the Warrensburg Regional, St. Cloud State lefthander Luke Tupy rose to the occasion – carving up the Tigers with 6.0 innings of two-run ball on just three hits and three walks. Tupy bounced back from a first inning two-run shot, fanning seven to close his day with five straight scoreless sides and exit in line for the win.
A one-out John Nett (3-for-6, R, 2B) double in the bottom of the third sparked a Huskies crooked number as Sawyer Smith (1-for-5, HBP, R, 3B, RBI) tripled him home two batters later then Ethan Navratil (2-for-6, R, RBI) tied the game with an RBI single laced the other way. Ben Clapp (1-for-2, BB, R, HR, 2 RBI) followed with a towering go-ahead two-run home run out to left, putting SCSU up 4-2.
Ouachita Baptist tied the game with a pair of runs in the seventh and handed the ball off to their closer after the stretch, beginning a true battle of the bullpens. Riley Ahern struck out two while working around two hits across 3.0 scoreless innings, followed by 2.0 shutout frames of two-hit ball from Jack Habeck. Payton VanBeck tossed a scoreless top of the 13th, then Drew Beier (1-for-6, R, HR, RBI) launched a no-doubt walk-off home run to lead off the home half and send the Huskies to the elimination semifinal against No. 4 Central Missouri.
No. 4 Central Missouri 6, St. Cloud State 4
St. Cloud State gave the ball right back to Jack Habeck on just over an hour's rest in the elimination semifinal, in need of innings against top seed Central Missouri. Habeck left it all on the mound, giving SCSU 3.0 innings of four-hit, four-run baseball while striking out one. The Mules scored a pair of runs in the first, added one in the third then posted a three spot in the fourth to make it 6-0.
Saturday's second game began with a historic Huskies hit, as John Nett's (1-for-5) leadoff single was his 96th hit of 2023 – tying Jordan Smith's single-season program record set in 2010.
Payton VanBeck took over in the fourth and proceeded to do everything possible to keep the Huskies in the game, finishing with 5.0 innings of two-run ball on three hits and a walk. The southpaw struck out three and retired each of the final 13 batters he faced.
Sam Riola (2-for-4, R, SB) led off the sixth with a single, later stealing second and scoring on a Ben Clapp (2-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI) single ripped back up the middle to get the Huskies on the board. SCSU added another run in the seventh as Garrett Bevacqua (1-for-4, R, 2B) doubled, advanced to third on a Kevin Butler (1-for-4, 2B) groundout then scored on a Mitchell Gumbko (0-for-3, 2 RBI, SF) groundout.
Down 6-2 entering the ninth, the Huskies were faced with erasing a four-run deficit against All-Region Mules closer JD McReynolds. Clapp welcomed the righthander to the game by blasting a solo homer out to left – the first long ball McReynolds had allowed in his collegiate career. Drew Beier (0-for-3, BB, R) drew a walk, moved to third on a Butler double then crossed home as Gumbko lifted a sacrifice fly to right. The Mules closer finished things off thanks to a great play by his first baseman, leaving the tying run at the plate and eliminating the Huskies 6-4.
UCM lefthander Cole Schroeder threw extremely well in the elimination game, allowing just two runs on seven hits across 7.0 innings while striking out seven and walking none to earn the win.
Quotables – St. Cloud State head coach Pat Dolan
"Today was just a great day of baseball. We got outplayed just a little bit – not a lot a bit – in that second game. What a day of baseball. I'm just so proud of the guys. To have it come down to the last at-bat, the first baseman taking a hit away from John Nett when it could have been 6-5 with Sam hitting. Just the story of our season. We're a bunch of grinders, overachievers, playing without a lot of our top players but the guys who filled in stepped up again this weekend. To play a 13-inning elimination game and then come right back to win again is a tough thing to do. I give our guys a lot of credit for fighting until the last out."
On eliminating Ouachita Baptist in 13 innings… "It started with Luke Tupy. He bounced back from that home run in the first inning, and they didn't really touch him the rest of the way. Six strong innings, then all the different bullpen guys mixing and matching to get us through those innings – then Drew Beier to hit that no-doubter walk-off. So proud of that battle."
"Number one, I'm so thankful for our seniors. Every one of them have meant so much to us on the field and off the field as leaders. When you look at all the key starters we have coming back, I start to feel really good about the future. Our redshirt freshmen, our incoming recruiting class – it's an expectation for the Huskies to be in regionals, and for us to get back to one despite the injuries is so important for our guys. Then to play three really competitive games, that gives our guys some confidence on the big stage. Once you get here it's anybody's game. We're really looking forward to the future."
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Baseball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
St. Cloud State 5, (RV) Ouachita Baptist 4 (F/13)
Tasked with keeping the Huskies' season alive in the elimination bracket of the Warrensburg Regional, St. Cloud State lefthander Luke Tupy rose to the occasion – carving up the Tigers with 6.0 innings of two-run ball on just three hits and three walks. Tupy bounced back from a first inning two-run shot, fanning seven to close his day with five straight scoreless sides and exit in line for the win.
A one-out John Nett (3-for-6, R, 2B) double in the bottom of the third sparked a Huskies crooked number as Sawyer Smith (1-for-5, HBP, R, 3B, RBI) tripled him home two batters later then Ethan Navratil (2-for-6, R, RBI) tied the game with an RBI single laced the other way. Ben Clapp (1-for-2, BB, R, HR, 2 RBI) followed with a towering go-ahead two-run home run out to left, putting SCSU up 4-2.
Ouachita Baptist tied the game with a pair of runs in the seventh and handed the ball off to their closer after the stretch, beginning a true battle of the bullpens. Riley Ahern struck out two while working around two hits across 3.0 scoreless innings, followed by 2.0 shutout frames of two-hit ball from Jack Habeck. Payton VanBeck tossed a scoreless top of the 13th, then Drew Beier (1-for-6, R, HR, RBI) launched a no-doubt walk-off home run to lead off the home half and send the Huskies to the elimination semifinal against No. 4 Central Missouri.
No. 4 Central Missouri 6, St. Cloud State 4
St. Cloud State gave the ball right back to Jack Habeck on just over an hour's rest in the elimination semifinal, in need of innings against top seed Central Missouri. Habeck left it all on the mound, giving SCSU 3.0 innings of four-hit, four-run baseball while striking out one. The Mules scored a pair of runs in the first, added one in the third then posted a three spot in the fourth to make it 6-0.
Saturday's second game began with a historic Huskies hit, as John Nett's (1-for-5) leadoff single was his 96th hit of 2023 – tying Jordan Smith's single-season program record set in 2010.
Payton VanBeck took over in the fourth and proceeded to do everything possible to keep the Huskies in the game, finishing with 5.0 innings of two-run ball on three hits and a walk. The southpaw struck out three and retired each of the final 13 batters he faced.
Sam Riola (2-for-4, R, SB) led off the sixth with a single, later stealing second and scoring on a Ben Clapp (2-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI) single ripped back up the middle to get the Huskies on the board. SCSU added another run in the seventh as Garrett Bevacqua (1-for-4, R, 2B) doubled, advanced to third on a Kevin Butler (1-for-4, 2B) groundout then scored on a Mitchell Gumbko (0-for-3, 2 RBI, SF) groundout.
Down 6-2 entering the ninth, the Huskies were faced with erasing a four-run deficit against All-Region Mules closer JD McReynolds. Clapp welcomed the righthander to the game by blasting a solo homer out to left – the first long ball McReynolds had allowed in his collegiate career. Drew Beier (0-for-3, BB, R) drew a walk, moved to third on a Butler double then crossed home as Gumbko lifted a sacrifice fly to right. The Mules closer finished things off thanks to a great play by his first baseman, leaving the tying run at the plate and eliminating the Huskies 6-4.
UCM lefthander Cole Schroeder threw extremely well in the elimination game, allowing just two runs on seven hits across 7.0 innings while striking out seven and walking none to earn the win.
Quotables – St. Cloud State head coach Pat Dolan
"Today was just a great day of baseball. We got outplayed just a little bit – not a lot a bit – in that second game. What a day of baseball. I'm just so proud of the guys. To have it come down to the last at-bat, the first baseman taking a hit away from John Nett when it could have been 6-5 with Sam hitting. Just the story of our season. We're a bunch of grinders, overachievers, playing without a lot of our top players but the guys who filled in stepped up again this weekend. To play a 13-inning elimination game and then come right back to win again is a tough thing to do. I give our guys a lot of credit for fighting until the last out."
On eliminating Ouachita Baptist in 13 innings… "It started with Luke Tupy. He bounced back from that home run in the first inning, and they didn't really touch him the rest of the way. Six strong innings, then all the different bullpen guys mixing and matching to get us through those innings – then Drew Beier to hit that no-doubter walk-off. So proud of that battle."
"Number one, I'm so thankful for our seniors. Every one of them have meant so much to us on the field and off the field as leaders. When you look at all the key starters we have coming back, I start to feel really good about the future. Our redshirt freshmen, our incoming recruiting class – it's an expectation for the Huskies to be in regionals, and for us to get back to one despite the injuries is so important for our guys. Then to play three really competitive games, that gives our guys some confidence on the big stage. Once you get here it's anybody's game. We're really looking forward to the future."
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 (4-0)
L: Dustin Bermudez (3-2)
Batting:
2B: Michael Quinones 1 ; CW Schrader 1 ; Tallon Heine 2
HR: Michael Quinones 1 ; Jaxon Chaney 1
RBI: G. Allen 1 ; Michael Quinones 2 ; Jaxon Chaney 1
SF: G. Allen 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jud Arrington 1 ; Michael Quinones 1 ; Jaxon Chaney 1 ; Tallon Heine 1
CS: Dustin Bermudez 1
Batting:
2B: Nett, John 1
3B: Smith, Sawyer 1
HR: Clapp, Ben 1 ; Beier, Drew 1
RBI: Smith, Sawyer 1 ; Navratil, Ethan 1 ; Clapp, Ben 2 ; Beier, Drew 1
SH: Gumbko, Mitchell 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nett, John 1 ; Smith, Sawyer 1 ; Navratil, Ethan 1 ; Clapp, Ben 1 ; Beier, Drew 1
HBP: Riola, Sam 1 ; Smith, Sawyer 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
6
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP/IF
/ Baseball
CI/OF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
IF/RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballSt Cloud State Baseball Vs Southwest Minnesota State Game 4
Sunday, March 16
St Cloud State Baseball Vs Southwest Minnesota State Game 3
Sunday, March 16
St Cloud State Baseball Vs Southwest Minnesota State Game 2
Thursday, March 13
St Cloud State Baseball Vs Southwest Minnesota State Game 1
Thursday, March 13
