SAINT PETER, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Morris traveled to Saint Peter, Minn. for a doubleheader against Crown College for day two of the series. The Cougars came away from the day with two commanding victories, winning 12-4 in game one and 16-3 in game two to take the series 2-1. Totaling up 28 hits on the day with no errors, the Cougars showed their dominance on both offense and defense.
Minnesota Morris 12, Crown 4
Minnesota Morris broke the scoring open with two runs in the top of the second inning, as both
Ashton Pauly and
Tyler Moriarty crossed home plate on a long single from
Bradie Black. The Polars responded with two runs to tie things up at the bottom of the first, but six runs from the Cougars in the top of the third flung Minnesota Morris into the lead.
David Steffen was the first to score in the inning, closely followed by
Peyton Neadeau. Black launched the ball over the fence for a grand slam on the next Cougar at-bat, earning four RBIs and bringing home Pauly,
Landen Meyerdirk, and
Keegan Jonas. Up 8-2, the Cougars held the Polars to just one run in the bottom of the third.
The top of the fourth proved fruitful for Minnesota Morris as they kept the scoring rolling with three more runs to take up an 11-3 lead. Neadeau worked his way around the bases to score on a double from Moriarty. Meyerdirk and Moriarty were the final two runs in the inning for the Cougars, with the defense holding Crown at bay to maintain the eight-point lead. Jonas scored the final run of game one for Minnesota Morris in the top of the eighth, solidifying the Cougars' eight-point lead and securing the dominant win to open the day.
Ben Meuser went 3-6 at the plate for the Cougar while Steffen went 3-5 and Moriarty 2-3. Minnesota Morris totaled up nine stolen bases with three of those coming from Moriarty to lead the offense. Black totaled up six RBIs in the game as well.
Jacob Schaaf and
Breckin Silvain led the Cougars from the mound, pitching up eight strokes, 10 groundouts, and six flyouts between the two of them while giving up just six hits.
Minnesota Morris 16, Crown 3
It was Crown who got things rolling in the bottom of the first, scoring all three of their runs in quick succession. After holding the Polars to two one-two-three innings, Steffen put the first mark on the board for the Cougars in the top of the fourth inning. Minnesota Morris took the lead in the sixth, with runs coming in from
Ben Leal, Jonas, Meyerdirk, and Moriarty in back-to-back-to-back plays. The Cougars gained a four-point advantage after Black and Pauly scored runs of their own, and Steffen scored his third run of the day to push the lead to 8-3. Minnesota Morris' defense continued to lock down the Polars in the bottom of the sixth, quickly moving to the top of the seventh where the offense scored four more runs.
Jonas crossed home plate for his fourth run of the day on an RBI from Moriarty who scored a run of his own along with Pauly shortly after. Black scored the Cougars' 12th run to close out the seventh inning and put Minnesota Morris up 12-3. The remainder for Minnesota Morris' runs came in the top of the seventh. Pauly scored on a double from Steffen late in the inning.
Trevor Haberman stepped up to the plate and knocked out a home run to earn 3 RBIs and bring home Steffen and Meuser. The defense posted yet another one-two-three inning to close out the game with a 16-3 lead.
The Cougar offense totaled up 17 hits in game two with four coming from Steffen. Haberman earned four RBIs, while Pauly secured two stolen bases. Meuser wrangled in 16 putouts for the defense.
Parker Gilchrist pitched all nine innings for Minnesota Morris, allowing just five hits while pitching up two strikeouts, 10 flyouts, and 15 groundouts to lead the Cougars from the mound.
