Monday, February 19
St. Joseph, Mo.
11:00 A.M. CT
St. Cloud State
4-5, 3-0
3
vs
1
Southwest Minnesota State
0-3, 0-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
St. Cloud State
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
8
1
Southwest Minnesota
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
4
0
Strong Starts, Offensive Explosion Leads to Huskies’ Sweep of SMSU
2/19/2024 8:44:00 PM | Baseball
Huskies win 3-1 and 14-2 to cap four-game sweep to begin conference play
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – St. Cloud State Baseball (5-5, 2-0 NSIC) completed a four-game sweep of Southwest Minnesota State (0-4, 0-4 NSIC) with a pair of victories in a doubleheader on Monday afternoon in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The Huskies won 3-1 in the first game of the day before the offensive exploded for a 14-2 win in the series finale.
SCSU completely dominated the series, outscoring the Mustangs 35-5 over the four victories. The Huskies received solid starts from senior Payton VanBeck (Elrosa, Minn.) and senior Jack Habeck (Appleton, Wis.) while senior Ben Clapp (Maple Lake, Minn.) and graduate Cal James (Buffalo, Minn.) each had four RBI on the day.
GAME 1 – SCSU 3, SMSU 1
SCSU got all the offense it needed in the first inning, as Clapp sent a line drive down the left field line for a bases-clearing double, giving the Huskies a 3-0 lead in the opening frame. VanBeck went the distance for the Huskies in the seven inning game, allowing only one run on a second inning balk while picking up his first win of the season.
TOP HUSKIES
SCSU's offense took over in the second game of the day, scoring a run in the first inning, four in the third, five in the sixth and four in the seventh innings to finish the game early with a 14-2 run-rule victory. Four different Huskies had multiple RBI in the game, led by James' four RBI and three RBI from redshirt junior Garrett Bevacqua (Carlsbad, Calif.).
On the mound, Habeck logged his best start of the season, tossing six innings while allowing two runs on five hits and two walks to earn the victory. Senior Cooper Avery (Fort Myers, Fla.) came in and pitched a scoreless seventh inning to close out the game.
TOP HUSKIES
St. Cloud State will now head to Colorado for four games, first a three-game set with UC-Colorado Springs Feb. 23-25 before a single game with CSU Pueblo on Feb. 26.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Baseball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
SCSU completely dominated the series, outscoring the Mustangs 35-5 over the four victories. The Huskies received solid starts from senior Payton VanBeck (Elrosa, Minn.) and senior Jack Habeck (Appleton, Wis.) while senior Ben Clapp (Maple Lake, Minn.) and graduate Cal James (Buffalo, Minn.) each had four RBI on the day.
GAME 1 – SCSU 3, SMSU 1
SCSU got all the offense it needed in the first inning, as Clapp sent a line drive down the left field line for a bases-clearing double, giving the Huskies a 3-0 lead in the opening frame. VanBeck went the distance for the Huskies in the seven inning game, allowing only one run on a second inning balk while picking up his first win of the season.
TOP HUSKIES
- VanBeck – W, 7.0 IP, R, 4 H, 2 K
- Clapp – 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI
- James – 2-3, R
- Senior Mitchell Gumbko (Ada, Mich.) – 1-2, extends hit streak to nine games
- Clapp's three RBI matched his career-best as a Husky, a mark he's now reached three times with the most recent occurrence in a April 27, 2023 game at Bemidji State.
- Clapp's two hits in the game marked his third multi-hit game this season.
- VanBeck logged his longest outing as a Husky with his first career complete game, scattering four hits and two walks while only allowing one run.
- In three starts this season, VanBeck now has a 1.93 ERA with 17 strike outs.
- Gumbko extended his hit streak to nine games to open the 2024 season and raised his batting average to .364 on the season.
SCSU's offense took over in the second game of the day, scoring a run in the first inning, four in the third, five in the sixth and four in the seventh innings to finish the game early with a 14-2 run-rule victory. Four different Huskies had multiple RBI in the game, led by James' four RBI and three RBI from redshirt junior Garrett Bevacqua (Carlsbad, Calif.).
On the mound, Habeck logged his best start of the season, tossing six innings while allowing two runs on five hits and two walks to earn the victory. Senior Cooper Avery (Fort Myers, Fla.) came in and pitched a scoreless seventh inning to close out the game.
TOP HUSKIES
- James – 2-4, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, BB
- Bevacqua – 3-5, 3 RBI, R
- Habeck – W, 6.0 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 4 K
- Junior Ethan Navratil (Albany, Minn.) – 1-5, 3B, 2 RBI
- Senior Drew Beier (Foley, Min.) – 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R, BB
- James recorded his season-high in RBI, moving his season total to nine RBI. His multi-hit game marks his fourth in the last five games.
- Navratil's third inning triple was his first career triple while his pair of RBI gives him 80 career RBI.
- Bevacqua had a season-best three RBI in the game.
- Habeck had his longest outing of the season and recorded a season-best four strike outs while lowering his season ERA from 24.75 to 11.70.
- SCSU turned three double plays in the game.
St. Cloud State will now head to Colorado for four games, first a three-game set with UC-Colorado Springs Feb. 23-25 before a single game with CSU Pueblo on Feb. 26.
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 (1-2)
L: Chmielewski, Ryan (0-1)
Batting:
2B: James, Cal 1 ; Clapp, Ben 1 ; Guthrie, Blaine 1
RBI: Clapp, Ben 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Jacobson, Brayden 1 ; James, Cal 1 ; Smith, Sawyer 1
CS: Gumbko, Mitchell 1
Batting:
2B: Petron, Brady 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Haase, Jaxon 1
HBP: Nash, Peyton 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP/IF
/ Baseball
CI/OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballSt Cloud State Baseball Vs Southwest Minnesota State Game 4
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