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Baseball wins two, drops two over weekend
Nobody went unaffected by Sunday's sudden climate change.
The freakish April weather postponed Sunday's game until today, but the Huskies were able to still fit in four games over the weekend, hosting the University of Minnesota-Duluth and Northern Colorado.
The Huskies got on the board early in game one against Duluth when leadoff man Kyle Heckendorf hit a solo home run to center for his third of the year and a 1-0 lead. Two costly errors committed by the Bulldogs in the top of the second allowed the Huskies to add two more runs and a 3-0 lead, but the favor would soon be returned.
After Husky starter Blayne Penney retired the first batter in the bottom half of the inning, two errors permitted Bulldog catcher Nathan Cermak to score and cut the lead to two.
After a scoreless, hitless third inning for both teams, Husky shortstop Peter Burkstrand hit a solo home run to right-center field for a 4-1 Husky lead. The home run was Burkstrand's second of the season, and the hit raised his batting average above the .300 mark. Burkstrand has been the Huskies' hottest hitter in the last week, going 12 for 24, dating back to the series against Morningside College, and putting together a seven-game hit streak in which he had four multiple-hit games.
Four runs were all the Huskies would need, as Penney cruised along for the complete game 4-2 victory in which he scattered three hits and three walks over seven innings, while striking out four and allowing one earned run.
Things started out a little more slowly for the Huskies in game two against Duluth. Bulldog starting pitcher Rich Pender kept the Huskies off the board through two innings, but was relieved by Shawn Tremaine in the third. That's when the Huskies really put something together offensively.
Heckendorf led the inning off by singling and promptly stealing second.
"We hit the ball well against the Duluth pitchers," he said. "They threw a few pitchers in for a few innings each, but we hit them hard."
Tremaine lasted two-thirds of an inning, allowing three hits, three runs and walking three in his first decision of the season. Goethke then got Dustin Fenwick to ground out to first to end the inning. The Huskies left the bases loaded, but three runs crossed to give them a lead they wouldn't surrender.
"It's pretty important that we get early leads," Heckendorf said. "We only play seven inning games, so a good head start can be crucial. It helps our pitching out."
The Huskies got back into it in the fourth inning, scoring three runs again for a 6-0 lead. Parnell O'Connor ignited a two out rally by singling in Macdonald from second, who reached on a double.
The Bulldogs cut into the lead in the bottom of the fourth when, with one on and two outs, left fielder Tim Battaglia homered for his fourth of the season. Husky starter Tim Gillson sustained the 6-2 lead until the bottom of the seventh, when with two outs, he surrendered another two run shot, this time to Bulldog second baseman and number nine hitter Corey Koidahl.
With the score now 6-4, coach Denny Lorsung brought in Nick Miller to finish out the game. Miller then struck out center fielder Brett Spaeth to seal the victory and record his second save of the year. Gillson nearly went the distance, pitching 6.2 innings, allowing six hits, two earned runs, no walks, and two strikeouts. The victory evened his record at 1-1.
The two victories over Duluth extended the season-long winning streak to five games, and improved their record to 9-16.
The five-game winning streak was not to be continued, however, when the Huskies were swept on Saturday by visiting Northern Colorado. Game one had the Huskies out hitting the Bears 6-3, but two key errors helped the Bears win despite scoring three runs on only three hits.
The trouble started for the Huskies in the top of the third. Starting pitcher Matt Beyer hit the first batter, David Maes, and the next batter Keith Covill reached on an error by third baseman Chris Kratochvil, also allowing Maes to advance to third. After Beyer struck out Bears third baseman Mike Carrasco, leftfielder Ryan Symons sacrificed one deep enough to right field to score Maes, and give UNC a 1-0 lead.
Bears pitcher Curt Borland kept the Huskies scoreless until the sixth when the Huskies scored one to tie the game. With two outs, Gretz walked, followed by a single by O'Connor. With runners on first and second, catcher Mark Fischer singled, allowing Gretz to score from second. The Huskies had tied the game, but would soon surrender it. In the top of the seventh, Beyer hit Bears first baseman Noah Mason, after retiring the first man he'd faced.
"It seems like when we have good pitching, we don't hit that well, and when we have good hitting, our pitching isn't always there," Heckendorf said. "Our biggest problem is getting both to work at the same time."
The Huskies jumped out to an early lead in game two. Mike Holman drew a one out walk, and soon scored when he was followed by an Andy Gretz triple. The next batter, Mark Fischer, then singled to score Gretz from third and the Huskies took a 2-0 lead.
UNC's Maes led off the third inning with a solo home run to cut the lead to one, but the Huskies responded by scoring two more in the bottom half of the inning. The Bears wouldn't be down for long, however. After Husky starter Konor Knudson retired the first batter he faced, designated hitter Jason Smith singled, and center fielder Eric Aragon hit a two run home run to pull the Bears within one. Noah Mason, who hit solo shot that tied the game at four, followed Aragon.
"They've got guys who can hit for power," Heckendorf said. "Most of their runs came off of home runs."
UNC claimed the lead in the sixth, when Paul Buboltz, relieving Knudson, gave up a lead off single, followed by a double by Aragon. A sacrifice fly allowed Aragon to move up to third, and a throwing error by Buboltz allowed Aragon to score, to give the Bears a 6-4 lead. The Bears added two more in the seventh to increase the lead to 8-4. In the bottom of the seventh, Craig Flippen doubled, and Mike Holman drew a two out walk, but the Huskies were unable to overcome the four-run deficit.
Drew Herron can be reached at: [email protected]
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