ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris baseball team notched an important UMAC victory on Tuesday with a 9-7 win over Crown College. The Cougars join the Polars as part of a three-way tie in second place in the UMAC standings with the win, moving to 12-13 (7-3 UMAC).

Cael Magill led off the bottom of the first inning for Crown with a solo home run and a Minnesota Morris error later in the inning allowed another run to score, making it 2-0 against Cougar starting pitcher Elias Harrington.

In the top of the third, it was the Cougars' turn to use the long ball. After David Steffen led off the inning with a double, Alex Baumann blasted a two-run homer to tie the game at 2-2. Minnesota Morris had the bases loaded later in the inning before the Polars got out of the jam.

A single from Seth Betts and a Minnesota Morris error later in the third inning resulted in a runner on third with no outs. Betts scored on a sacrifice fly a couple batters later to put the Polars back in front, 3-2. Rhys Dewick added another solo shot in the bottom of the fourth to once again give Crown a two-run lead.

Minnesota Morris cut into the deficit in the top of the fifth as Ty Beasley led off with a walk and went to second on a single from Ben Meuser. A one-out double off the bat of Keegan Jonas brought Beasley home to make it 4-3.

The top of the sixth followed a similar script to the third inning. Steffen led off – this time with a single – and Baumann followed with his second home run of the game, putting Minnesota Morris in front for the first time at 5-4. The Polars were once again able to escape with the bases loaded and avoid any further damage.

In Harrington's final inning of work, the freshman faced a tough situation with no outs and runners on second and third, but was able to get out of the frame while giving up just a sacrifice fly that tied the score at 5-5. The Cougars responded in the top of the seventh with a sac fly of their own. Evan Benson reached via a lead-off walk and was on third with one out when Tyler Scheler lifted one to right, bringing him home for a 6-5 advantage.

Ryan Wilhelm took over in the bottom of the seventh and recorded two quick outs before three straight hits drove a run home for the Polars and knotted the score one final time at 6-6.

The eighth inning turned out to be the turning point of the contest. Meuser led off with a double and Ethan Schmitz followed with a single before he moved up to second on a wild pitch. Crown was able to retire the next two hitters before Benson walked to load the bases and an error kept the inning going as Meuser came in to score. The Polars then reached further into their bullpen but Baumann was hit with a pitch from Mason Brock to score Schmitz. A wild pitch subsequently allowed Benson to race home and add another bit of insurance, making it 9-6.

In the bottom of the eighth, Crown scored an unearned run to pull within two, but Howie Hatton was tagged out trying to stretch his single to a double. That ended the frame and kept the Cougars in front by a pair.

Baumann came in to pitch the ninth and promptly gave up a double to Brock, but followed that with a strikeout of Ashton Long. After a single by Jack Becker put runners on the corners and brought the winning run to the plate, Baumann reared back and punched out Dewick and pinch-hitter Terren Sugita to finish off his third save of the season.

Harrington threw 6.0 innings and struck out eight Crown hitters, but was stuck with a no-decision on the afternoon. Wilhelm struck out two in his 2.0 innings and picked up the win to move to 3-0 on the season. Steffen, Baumann, and Meuser combined for 10 of the 12 Minnesota Morris hits on the day. Meuser was 4-for-4 with a walk, while both Steffen and Baumann had three hits. Baumann's two home runs played a big part of his game-high five RBIs. 

Minnesota Morris and the University of Northwestern have shifted their three-game series this weekend. Originally scheduled to be played in Morris, all three games will now be in St. Paul. Saturday's 4 p.m. game will be held at Bethel University, with Sunday's doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. to be played at UNW.