The University of Minnesota Duluth will have a quick turnaround after taking both ends of a doubleheader from Winona State University on Saturday afternoon on campus at Bulldog Park, as the two teams will meet Sunday at 11:00 a.m. for another Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference twinbill at Wade Stadium in Duluth.
UMD (16-10, 10-6 NSIC) needed extra innings to conquer the Warriors in game one, with junior third baseman
Kyle Comer plating the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to win 3-2. The Bulldogs exploded for five runs early and held on to down Winona State (13-17, 11-7 NSIC) 7-4, with senior right-hander
Wes Mleziva picking up his fourth save of the season.
Junior right-fielder
Spencer Diedrich singled home a pair of runs in the second inning of game one, and UMD's junior ace, southpaw
Bo Hellquist went 5.1 innings, with the game-tying run coming into score after he'd been relieved. He punched out five Warriors, as the UMD staff collected 10 in game one. Freshman sidearming righty
Justin Kunkel picked up his first collegiate win out of the pen, striking out one in two-thirds of an inning.
Junior righty
Austin Vaske got plenty of run support in game two, with junior second baseman
Jimmy Heck knocking out a three-run homer in the first inning as the gusting winds at Bulldog Park died down just in time for game two. Junior first baseman
Alex Wojciechowski drove in a pair in the second inning, and Vaske did the rest, tossing six strong innings, allowing just a pair of runs while striking out five and scattering eight baserunners. UMD plated two more in the bottom of the sixth inning, eliminating the save opportunity, but when Kunkel returned in game two and pitched himself into trouble, Mleziva returned for his second outing of the day, shutting down the Warrior rally.
UP NEXTThe same two teams will be back at it tomorrow morning at Wade Stadium. Opening pitch has been moved up to an 11:00 a.m. start to avoid the adverse weather conditions predicted for late tomorrow afternoon.
