The University of Minnesota Duluth didn't get off to the start of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play it wanted when the University of Sioux Falls took game one of a Friday afternoon doubleheader, but the Bulldogs bounced back to take game two with another twinbill scheduled for Saturday.
UMD (6-4) fell by a 6-4 final in game one when a seventh-inning rally fell just short, but knocked off Sioux Falls (4-14) by a 12-8 final in the second game slugfest.
COVERING THE BASES• Junior righthander
Austin Vaske would six strong innings for UMD in game two, allowing just a pair of runs while striking out seven but it was senior right-handed reliever
Wes Mleziva who picked up the win, shutting the door in the final 2.5 innings for his second victory of the season out of the bullpen for the Bulldogs. UMD's relievers tossed three shutout innings in game one, including hitless appearances by freshman sidearmer
Justin Kunkel and senior submariner
Michael Stocke.
• Junior first baseman launched a pair of home runs and a double, finishing 4-for-8 with four RBIS and a pair of runs scored to lead UMD in the split, while senior centerfielder
John Meyer added a pair of longballs, one in each game, his second and third of the season. Sophomore outfielders
Grant Farley and
Matt Vogt each made a splash, with Farley hitting his third homer of the year and crossing the plate three times on the day. Vogt was 4-of-6 with two RBIs and a double.
The Bulldogs scored the day's opening run in the top of the second inning when senior catcher
Beau Goff singled home the red-hot Farley, who reached on an error earlier in the inning, but the Cougars answered back with an explosive third inning, going up 6-1 thanks in part to one of two UMD errors in the game. The offensive burst chased sophomore left-hander
Kevin Stocke off the bump after three innings, but the Bulldog 'pen shut the door the rest of the way as UMD allowed just seven hits in the game. The Bulldogs rallied, adding a run in the top of the fifth and an
Alex Wojciechowski sacrifice fly, and a pair more thanks to Meyer's leadoff home run and an RBI double by sophomore rightfielder
Matt Vogt in the seventh inning.
Sioux Falls struck first in the second inning of game two when freshman catcher Connor Merriam doubled home senior outfielder Jordan Jeske on a two-out double, the game's first hit. USF went for extra bases again in the bottom of the third when freshman outfielder Matthew Minnick hit a homer to put the Cougars up by two. Wojciechowski went yard for the first time of the year in the next inning to knot the game at 2-2, driving in Vogt who singled for UMD's first hit of the game, and Farley lifted his third longball of the season to give the Bulldogs the lead, one they would add onto in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings while Vaske shut the door to finish with seven strikeouts and just two runs allowed in his six innings of work.
After a solid first game, the bullpen faltered in the bottom of the seventh in game two, as the Cougars strung together six hits include a home run to knot the game at seven before Mleziva came in to shut the door on the rally. UMD immediately answered back when Meyer hit his second solo shot of the day in the top of the eighth, but a two-out rally plated the game-tying run once again for USF, the first run Mleziva has allowed all season, before he picked up his third of four strikeouts in the game to close the inning. Not to be outdone by Meyer, Wojciechowski launched his second homer of the day in the top of the ninth to put UMD up once again, and for good, as they tacked on three more runs in the inning to secure a victory out of the bullpen for Mleziva.
UP NEXTUMD and USF will play two again Saturday afternoon. Opening pitch for game one is set for 12:00 p.m.
