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Busy baseball team hangs in there
Huskies split with Winona, Mankato; fall short in late comeback bid against Gophers
 Media Credit: Bridget Brown/The Minnesota Daily SCSU�s Peter Burkstrand attempts to make a tag during the Huskies� loss to the University of Minnesota. The Huskies rallied for eight runs in the eighth inning but came up short in the 9-8 loss to the Golden Gophers.
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Consistent play has been the Huskies' mantra all season, but it's taken until the end of April for consistency to come about.
After struggling in the early part of the season, the Huskies have split four of the last five series as they slowly inch their way towards the .500 mark. After losing the first game in each series, the Huskies have rebounded to take the second game and salvage the split.
Last Thursday's non-conference series against Winona State was no different. The Huskies and Warriors were tied at three going into the bottom of the fourth, but the game was all Winona State after that. The Warriors roughed up Huskies' starter Blayne Penney for seven runs in the fourth inning.
The Warriors' rally began in the fourth when left fielder Mark Berquist singled, followed by a two-run shot off the bat of shortstop Erik Steigerwald for the 5-3 lead. Penney would surrender three more homeruns in the inning, allowing seven runs on seven hits overall. The fourth inning would prove to be the difference in game one as the Huskies were unable to respond. The Warriors added one more run in the sixth to make the score 11-3, and that's where it would stand.
The Huskies were running on all cylinders in game two as strong performances by Mike Holman and Kyle Heckendorf led the Husky offensive attack, while a strong pitching performance by Tim Gillson shut down the Warrior's bats. Gillson pitched seven innings, allowing one run, six hits, no walks, while striking out five on his way to the complete game victory.
"My changeup was pretty effective," Gillson said. "It was doing a good job of keeping the hitters off-balance."
The Huskies got things started in the top of the first when Dustin Fenwick drew a walk, followed by a two-run homer off the bat of Holman for his fourth of the year, and a 2-0 Husky lead. The Warriors answered to score one in their half of the inning. Gillson allowed three consecutive singles before settling down and getting second baseman Mike Spaeth to ground into a double play to escape the inning with the lead intact. The Warriors had their best chance to score runs in the first, because Gillson's pitching was about to become a lot stingier. "
"My off speed pitches weren't really working in the first inning," Gillson said. "I found them in the second inning, and they worked the rest of the game for me."
The Huskies added to their lead in the fourth with a four-run inning to increase their lead to five runs. Reggie Litke led the inning off by doubling, followed by a single from Chris Kratochvil. With runners on the corners, Heckendorf singled, allowing Litke to score, and then Dustin Fenwick reached base by bunting. With the bases loaded, Holman doubled to score all three runners and collect his fifth RBI of the game.
The impressive offensive performance raised his average to .416, as Holman finished the day going 4 for 4, five RBIs, two runs scored, and a stolen base. Heckendorf also had a good day at the plate going 3 for 5 with three singles and one RBI, but pitching was the story of this game. After allowing a run and three hits in the first inning, Gillson settled into a groove, scattering only three hits over the next six innings.
"My goal was to pitch the whole game," Gillson said. "My off-speed pitches were working for me, and I was able to do that."
The games originally scheduled for last weekend against Minnesota State, Mankato had to be delayed, but the teams were still able to get the games in. The Huskies dropped both games against the Mavericks 12-5 and 12-1 in the season finale at Dick Putz field on Monday. The Huskies led for a short time in game one when a two-run shot by Gretz in the bottom of the first gave the team a 2-1 lead, and rallied back to tie the game at five in the third inning thanks to a solo shot by Holman and RBIs by Mark Fischer and Pete Burkstrand.
But that was all the offense the Huskies could muster, as the Mavericks scored seven more runs in the late innings to bury the Huskies 12-5.
The lone bright spot in game two's 12-1 defeat was the continued hot-hitting by Holman and Fischer, who accounted for half of the team's four hits. Holman extended his hitting streak to nine games and Fischer reached 11 games in the effort. Maverick pitcher Justin Cierlik held the Huskies to two hits until the sixth inning when Holman singled through the left side and was brought home by Fischer to score the Huskies' lone run of the game.
The Huskies fared slightly better in Tuesday's series in Mankato, winning the second game after dropping the first. An excellent pitching performance from senior Nate Hoelscher wasn't enough to carry the Huskies to victory in game one, despite Hoelscher pitching six strong innings, and allowing two unearned runs on six hits, while recording six Ks. Husky bats were silenced by Mankato ace Aaron Heitzman who turned in a superior performance. Heitzman improved his season record to 8-1 in the victory, allowing five hits, one earned run, and struck out three in the complete game victory.
As is sometimes the trend this season, the Huskies came back to take the second game. The offense was working early for the Huskies, as they put six on the board in the first two innings. A groundout by Fenwick allowed Fischer to score the game's first run, and the Huskies added another in the first with an RBI single off the bat of Parnell O'Connor, scoring Gretz. The Huskies banged away four more runs in the second, increasing the lead to six.
Mark Dingman got things started for the Huskies in the second by hitting a solo home run. After Chris Kratochvil and Craig Flippen reached, Holman doubled to score both runners. A Mark Fischer single soon scored Holman for the inning's fourth run and a 6-0 Husky lead. The Huskies would add two more in the fourth, but that was enough run support for Gillson, who pitched seven innings, allowing five runs, on nine hits, while fanning four. The 8-5 victory is Gillson's second this week, and third of the season.
The Huskies traveled to Minneapolis Wednesday night to take on the University of Minnesota at Siebert Field. The game was clearly dominated by the Gophers until the eighth inning when the Husky offense finally woke up. Down 9-0, the Huskies rallied to score eight runs in the top of the eight to make things interesting.
The eighth inning rejuvenation was due in large part to two key hits by first year player Kevin Macdonald and his three RBIs. Macdonald started the inning off by singling to right, and was advanced to second when Fenwick reached on an error. Holman then singled to center, and an error by Gopher center fielder Chris Guetzlaff allowed Macdonald to score and both runners to advance. Two wild pitches allowed both runners to score to make the game 9-3. Heckendorf then walked, followed by a Gretz single, and Fischer reached after being hit to load the bases. Dingman singled to left to score Heckendorf for the fourth run. Macdonald then batted for the second time of the inning, this time doubling to left center to clear the bases. Macdonald was then brought in for the eighth run of the inning when Fenwick singled to left. The Huskies scored eight runs on six hits while the Gophers committed two key errors.
The Huskies received solid pitching performances from Nick Miller and Reggie Litke, who combined for 4.2 innings of shutout ball. Miller replaced starter Penney in the fourth, and allowed five hits and struck out three. Miller pitched the last two innings without allowing a hit, recorded three Ks.
The nine-run lead is difficult for any team to come back from, but the offensive explosion in the eighth demonstrated the Huskies weren't about to lay down. It just proved to be too little, too late.
Drew Herron can be reached at: [email protected]
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