Follow the Cougars on Twitter
Send Cougar updates to my email
Get Text Updates
L, 5-7
W, 4-1
Morris, Minn. – The Minnesota Morris baseball team battled back from an opening loss today (Apr. 9), scoring a 4-1 win in the second game of their doubleheader with Crown, after dropping the first 7-5.
Morris' (3-10, 2-1 UMAC) Dustin Sauter (Morris, Minn.) led the way at the plate, logging a pair of hits in each game to finish as the only player with four in the two games. The Cougar outfielder went 2-for-3 in each game, also finishing with a team high three runs scored.
On the mound, the Cougars were paced by Lee Arvold (Blaine, Minn.), who pitched a complete game gem in game two to score his first win of the season. Although he allowed nine hits, he made up for it with nine strikeouts while walking just two. He never allowed over three hits in an inning, and over the final three frames gave up just two, allowing just a single unearned run.
After making just one error in their game one win, Crown (1-11, 1-7 UMAC) was plagued by mistakes in game two. The Storm made six fielding errors and allowed the Cougars to score their four runs on just three hits as Morris won the rubber match.
Two of those errors came in the first half of the first inning, as the Cougars took an early 2-0 lead on a pair to Storm throwing errors.
The Storm threatened in the home half of the first, connecting for three hits and moving a pair of runners to third with the first getting thrown out at home and the second left stranded when Arvold notched one of his nine strikeouts.
The Storm got back one run in the fourth, but the Cougars answered with two in the top of the fifth to end the scoring.
For how much errors plagued the Storm in the second game, it couldn't match how they hurt the Cougars in their game one loss. The Cougars made just two in the game, but they came at costly times, extended innings, and led to five unearned runs.
Leading 5-0 in the fourth, Morris starter Thomas Fox (Coon Rapids, Minn.) was cruising and retired the first two batters he faced. But after a two-out error, things began to unravel, leading to four runs and Fox could not finish the inning.
Kyle Blair (Calgary, Alberta) came in to finish the inning, getting the last out, and preserving a 5-4 lead for the Cougars. However, in the sixth another Cougar error led to a three run inning for the Storm, giving them a 7-5 lead that would stand up for the win.
Playing at home – but as the visitors for the second straight day after the games were moved from Crown to Morris – the Cougars stand at 2-1 in league play after their first series of the season. After a Tuesday (Apr. 12) doubleheader at Presentation, Morris gets to return home for a three-game series with Northwestern, beginning with a nine-inning game on Apr.15, before a double-dip the next day. Game times are 3:00 p.m. on Friday and 12:00 p.m. on Saturday.
