MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris baseball team won both games of an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference doubleheader against Martin Luther College, 11-3 and 16-12, Tuesday night in Morris, Minn. Bradie Black hit three home runs, including a walk-off grand slam, to give the Cougars the win in game two.
 
Minnesota Morris improves to 13-13 overall and 9-4 in the conference, while the Knights drop to 5-22 overall and 0-12 in conference play.
 
Game 1
The Knights got on the board first with an RBI single in the opening frame. In the second inning, Bradie Black reached on an error, and Aidan Moran hit his first home run of the season to put UMM on top 2-1. Blake Imhoff singled through the right side and then reached third after an error. Tyler Moriarty pushed the lead to 3-1 to end the second.
 
The lead grew to 4-1 after Ben Meuser homered to right field. Kellan Oligmueller followed with a walk, and Peyton Neadeau singled to keep the lineup moving. Black had the third hit of the inning, scoring Oligmueller. Imhoff extended the lead to 6-1 with a single to left field.
 
The Knights got a run back in the fifth inning, but Minnesota Morris responded with Black doubling and Trever Haberman homering to push the lead to six.
 
The Cougars added a run in both the sixth and seventh innings with sacrifice flies from Black and Meyerdirk. In the eighth, Ryan McGie reached on a dropped third strike. Taeyvn Brown entered as a pinch runner and stole second. Black drove him in for the final run of the game as UMM won 11-3.
 
The Cougars totaled 14 hits, with Oligmueller, Black, and Imhoff tallying three apiece. UMM hit three home runs—by Meuser, Haberman, and Moran—and Black added a pair of doubles. Black led the game with three RBIs, while Haberman and Moran each had two.
 
Travis Godfrey earned the win, pitching five innings with six strikeouts while allowing two earned runs. Sebastian Bark pitched one inning, retiring three of the four batters he faced. Zach Anderson earned the save after pitching three innings, striking out two and giving up one earned run.
 
Game 2
The Cougars started game two with a Meyerdirk single followed by Moriarty drawing a walk. An error allowed Meuser to reach as Meyerdirk scored the opening run. A passed ball brought in another Minnesota Morris run. Black hit his second home run of the season to increase the lead to 4-0 after the first inning.
 
The Knights scored their first run in the second and then took the lead in the third with a six-run inning. The lead continued to grow for the Knights, as they were up 9-4 after seven innings.
 
MLC added another run in the eighth inning. The Cougars responded with back-to-back home runs from Black and Haberman to cut the lead to four.
 
In the ninth, MLC pushed the lead back to six. Minnesota Morris quickly loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning with a single from Moriarty and walks from Meuser and Oligmueller. Black and Haberman each drew bases-loaded walks to continue the scoring. McGie tied the game with a grand slam in his first plate appearance, forcing extra innings.
 
In the tenth, the Knights loaded the bases with one out. The next batter flied out to left field, and the runner at third was called out for not tagging up, keeping the score tied at 12-12. Moriarty singled and then advanced to second on an error to start the bottom of the inning. After tagging up on a flyout, he moved to third as the winning run. The Knights then intentionally walked the next two batters to load the bases. Black ended the game with his third home run of the night, giving the Cougars a 16-12 victory.
 
Minnesota Morris recorded 10 hits in the win, with Black accounting for four. Moriarty also had a pair of hits. Black finished with three home runs and eight RBIs in the game two victory. Haberman and McGie also homered, and Black added a double.
 
Johnny Lopez started on the mound, going 2.1 innings with five strikeouts while allowing six earned runs. Tim Buckles pitched the next two innings, recording one strikeout and allowing three earned runs. Breckin Silvain earned the win after pitching 5.2 innings, striking out four and allowing three runs.