MANKATO, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris baseball team had its 2023 season come to a close on Friday night in a 10-5 loss to the University of Wisconsin-Superior in the UMAC Tournament. The Yellowjackets jumped out to an 8-1 lead after five innings and a second comeback attempt for the Cougars in as many nights came up short.

In a rematch of a pitcher's duel from last month, Joey Reinarts and Matt Tappe squared off for the second time this season. Unlike the earlier 3-0 UWS win when those two met the first time, both offenses had a good showing on Friday, but the Yellowjackets were able to capitalize on some control issues to grab control right away.

With one out and two runners in scoring position in the bottom of the first, UW-Superior scored twice on wild pitches to take a 2-0 lead. An attempted response from Minnesota Morris in the top of the second inning was squelched when Ethan Schmitz was called out on a bang-bang play at home off of a Ben Meuser double.

An error from Minnesota Morris to open the bottom of the second came back to bite the Cougars as Jonny Rhodes eventually came around to score on a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0 after two complete.

Nick Fredrikson and Rhodes each added RBIs in the bottom of the third inning as the UW-Superior lead grew to 5-0. Minnesota Morris pulled one run back in the top of the fourth with a lead-off single from Schmitz to set the table for a one-out double from Keegan Jonas. Ty Beasley followed that with a RBI single to drive in Schmitz to make it 5-1.

In the bottom half of the fifth, a pair of one-out singles ended the day for Reinarts. Josh Osten was on in relief, but two more singles pushed two runs across from UW-Superior before a double steal ended with a third run coming home to push the Yellowjacket lead to 8-1.

Just as in Thursday's comeback against Bethany Lutheran College, Minnesota Morris tried to get back in the game with a big sixth inning. Jonas and Beasley started the inning off with consecutive doubles and Tappe hit Zach Froman and Ashton Pauly in consecutive at-bats to load the bases. A RBI fielder's choice off the bat of Alex Baumann scored another run to finish off Tappe's day. Reliever Declan Higgins induced a slow roller from Evan Benson for the second out of the frame, but it was enough for Froman to make it home from third to bring the Cougars back within four, 8-4.

Hopes of another Minnesota Morris rally dimmed in the bottom of the seventh as an error and a passed ball contributed to a two-run inning from UW-Superior that made it 10-4. In the top of the ninth, the first two Cougars were retired to bring the team down to their final out. Though Schmitz would unleash a solo shot to right, UW-Superior was able to get Meuser swinging to end the game.

Reinarts was charged with the loss to finish the season at 5-5. The sophomore struck out four in 4.1 innings. Ryan Wilhelm threw the bottom of the eighth and kept the Yellowjackets off the board. Schmitz and Beasley each were 3-for-4 in the game, while Benson and Jonas added two hits apiece.

Minnesota Morris finishes up the season with an overall record of 19-19 with a 14-7 UMAC record, qualifying for the UMAC Tournament for the first time since the 2017 season.