Saturday, March 15
US Bank Stadium | Minneapolis, Minn.
5:00 P.M. CT
St. Cloud State
7-8, 0
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Southwest Minnesota State
7-4, 0
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Southwest Minn. St.
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St. Cloud State
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Photo by: Nathaly Delgado
Strong Pitching, Timely Bats Leads Huskies to Doubleheader Sweep of SMSU at U.S. Bank Stadium
3/15/2025 11:31:00 PM | Baseball
Huskies beat Mustangs 9-2 and 6-3 behind strong starts from Brassfield and Nelson
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – St. Cloud State Baseball (8-8, 4-2 NSIC) swept a doubleheader to open a four-game series with NSIC-foe Southwest Minnesota State (7-5, 2-4 NSIC) on Saturday night at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. The Huskies fell behind by giving up runs in the top of the first inning in both games but then blanked the Mustangs for the remainder for both contests, winning 9-2 and 6-3.
GAME 1 – SCSU 9, SMSU 2
After giving up two runs in the top of the first inning, SCSU starting pitcher junior Bryce Brassfield (Gilbert, Ariz.) settled in and cruised throughout the rest of his start, going the distance in the seven-inning game for the first complete game by a Husky this season. The Husky junior gave up two runs on four hits with three walks while striking out a season-high six.
The Husky bats got going right away in the bottom of the first inning, beginning with a three-run, moonshot, upper-deck home run from senior Ethan Navratil (Albany, Minn.). The senior freshman extended career-long hit streak to 14 games and drove in redshirt junior Liam Moreno (Sun Prairie, Wis.) and senior Blaine Guthrie (Emerald, Wis.) with the long ball. Before the homer, Moreno started off the inning with a leadoff single and later stole second and third for two of his three stolen bases.
SCSU then took the lead for the first time in the game in the second inning, scoring three runs on a two-run RBI double from Moreno who then later advanced home on an error. The Huskies then tacked on three more in the sixth to make the score 9-2.
TOP HUSKIES
Just like the first game, the Mustangs jumped out to a lead in the top of the first inning, but then SCSU starter redshirt junior Brady Nelson (Oro Valley, Ariz.) put the clamp down in another impressive start. Nelson pitched into the seventh and didn't allow another run after giving up three in the first, exiting with four strikeouts while on his way to his third victory of the season.
Navratil kept his hot streak going in the first, knocking in the Huskies first run of the game with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first inning. SCSU scored its first three runs of the game on sacrifice flies, plating runs in the fourth and fifth innings as well. The Huskies then took the lead later in the fifth when sophomore Hayden Konkol (Denmark, Wis.) and Navratil scored on an error. Another run came in to score on a wild pitch to make the score 6-3.
Redshirt senior Frankie Vokers (Maple Grove, Minn.) came on in relief with two outs in the seventh inning and closed the game out for the Huskies. He struck out three while only allowing one hit with three hit-by-pitches to earn his third save of the season.
TOP HUSKIES
SCSU and SMSU will finish off its four-game series with a doubleheader tomorrow starting at 5:00 p.m. CT from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Baseball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
GAME 1 – SCSU 9, SMSU 2
After giving up two runs in the top of the first inning, SCSU starting pitcher junior Bryce Brassfield (Gilbert, Ariz.) settled in and cruised throughout the rest of his start, going the distance in the seven-inning game for the first complete game by a Husky this season. The Husky junior gave up two runs on four hits with three walks while striking out a season-high six.
The Husky bats got going right away in the bottom of the first inning, beginning with a three-run, moonshot, upper-deck home run from senior Ethan Navratil (Albany, Minn.). The senior freshman extended career-long hit streak to 14 games and drove in redshirt junior Liam Moreno (Sun Prairie, Wis.) and senior Blaine Guthrie (Emerald, Wis.) with the long ball. Before the homer, Moreno started off the inning with a leadoff single and later stole second and third for two of his three stolen bases.
SCSU then took the lead for the first time in the game in the second inning, scoring three runs on a two-run RBI double from Moreno who then later advanced home on an error. The Huskies then tacked on three more in the sixth to make the score 9-2.
TOP HUSKIES
- Moreno – 2-4, 3 R, 3 SB, RBI
- Navratil – 1-2, HR, 3 RBI, R
- Brassfield – W, 7.0 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 6 K
- Sophomore Wilmis Castro (San Juan, Puerto Rico) – 1-3, 2 RBI
- SCSU improves to 6-1 all-time in games played at U.S. Bank Stadium and has won six straight dating back to Feb. 22. 2017 against Concordia-St. Paul (7-2).
- Navratil extended his hit streak to 14 games and launched his third home run of the season.
- The Husky senior captain's long ball was his 22nd career home run, moving him into a tie for ninth-place with Jordan Smith (2010-11) on the program career home run list.
- Brassfield punched out a season-high six batters while earning his first win of the season and lowering his season ERA to 4.76.
- Brassfield pitched the first complete game by a Husky this season, and the first since April 24, 2024, when Kaden Pfeffer went seven innings.
- Moreno recorded his sixth multi-hit game of the season with two hits and stole a team-high three bases.
- Junior Wyatt Tweet (Russell, Manitoba) had his fourth multi-hit game of the season with two hits and a stolen base.
- Castro knocked in his 11th and 12th RBIs of the season with his third multi-RBI game of the season.
Just like the first game, the Mustangs jumped out to a lead in the top of the first inning, but then SCSU starter redshirt junior Brady Nelson (Oro Valley, Ariz.) put the clamp down in another impressive start. Nelson pitched into the seventh and didn't allow another run after giving up three in the first, exiting with four strikeouts while on his way to his third victory of the season.
Navratil kept his hot streak going in the first, knocking in the Huskies first run of the game with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first inning. SCSU scored its first three runs of the game on sacrifice flies, plating runs in the fourth and fifth innings as well. The Huskies then took the lead later in the fifth when sophomore Hayden Konkol (Denmark, Wis.) and Navratil scored on an error. Another run came in to score on a wild pitch to make the score 6-3.
Redshirt senior Frankie Vokers (Maple Grove, Minn.) came on in relief with two outs in the seventh inning and closed the game out for the Huskies. He struck out three while only allowing one hit with three hit-by-pitches to earn his third save of the season.
TOP HUSKIES
- Nelson – W, 6.2 IP, 3 R, 4 K
- Volkers – SV, 2.1 IP, 1 H, 3 K
- Konkol – 2-4, 2 2B, R
- Navratil – 2-4, RBI
- SCSU improves to 7-1 all-time in games played at U.S. Bank Stadium and has won seven straight dating back to Feb. 22. 2017 against Concordia-St. Paul (7-2).
- Navratil extended his hit streak to 15 games, hitting safely in all but the first game of the season while hitting a career-high .387. He had two hits for his team-leading eighth multi-hit game of the season.
- Nelson improved to 3-0 in his second start and longest outing of the season, going 6.2 innings with four strikeouts.
- Volkers notched his third save of the season with his third outing of 2.0+ innings this season. His scoreless outing was his third in sixing appearances.
- Konkol had his first career two-double game.
- Tweet had his fifth multi-hit game of the season with two hits.
SCSU and SMSU will finish off its four-game series with a doubleheader tomorrow starting at 5:00 p.m. CT from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
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: Brassfield, Bryce (1-2)
L: Chmielewski, Ryan (2-1)
Batting:
2B: Lampert, Levi 1
HR: Froland, Tyler 1
RBI: Bantam, Cory 1 ; Froland, Tyler 1
SH: Hammrich, Henry 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lampert, Levi 1 ; Froland, Tyler 1
HBP: Hackett, Chuck 1
Batting:
2B: Moreno, Liam 1 ; Krueger, Ethan 1 ; Konkol, Hayden 1
HR: Navratil, Ethan 1
RBI: Moreno, Liam 1 ; Navratil, Ethan 3 ; Castro, Wilmis 2 ; Konkol, Hayden 1
SF: Konkol, Hayden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Moreno, Liam 3 ; Tweet, Wyatt 1 ; Zuck, Wilson 1 ; Guthrie, Blaine 2 ; Navratil, Ethan 1 ; Jacobson, Brayden 1
SB: Moreno, Liam 3 ; Kim, Taehyung 1
HBP: Navratil, Ethan 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
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Players Mentioned
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/ BaseballSt Cloud State Baseball Vs Southwest Minnesota State Game 4
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