DULUTH, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris baseball team fell in the series opener with the University of Wisconsin-Superior on Saturday night at Wade Stadium, 13-2, in seven innings. The Cougars move to 11-16 (6-6 UMAC) on the season).

Zach Romans threw a complete game for UW-Superior and allowed just three hits, but two of those came in the top of the first when Minnesota Morris took a 1-0 lead. Ashton Pauly led off with a triple and Ethan Schmitz singled him in two batters later. 

That early advantage lasted only until the bottom half of the inning when a pair of Cougar errors contributed to a two-run frame for the Yellowjackets against UMN Morris starter Parker Gilchrist (3-1). 

The third inning is when UW-Superior took full control of the ballgame, scoring seven runs as Gilchrist and reliever Trevor Mong gave up five hits, hit a pair of batters, and issued two walks. The lead then reached 10 runs in the bottom of the fourth as the Yellowjackets tacked on another pair to go up, 11-1. 

The final run of the night for the Cougars came in the fifth. With Tyler Moriarty aboard, Pauly notched his second triple of the game to bring the first-year outfielder home, making it 11-2. UW-Superior took its lead back over the 10-run mark in the bottom of the sixth. Needing two runs to extend the game in the seventh, the Cougars went down in order to finish things off.

Minnesota Morris and UW-Superior will conclude their series with a doubleheader tomorrow back at Wade Stadium starting at 12 p.m.