The University of Minnesota Duluth battled to a split with Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference rival St. Cloud State University on Tuesday afternoon, with the Huskies capturing a win in game one before the Bulldogs returned the favor in the rematch. Tuesday's games mark the conclusion of an eight-game homestand for UMD.

SCSU 4, UMD 3

The Bulldogs jumped out to the first lead of the afternoon in the third inning when freshman outfielder Drew Stewart grounded an RBI single up the middle, bringing senior shortstop Brian Pierce around to score. The lead lasted just half an inning however, as St. Cloud responded with a four-run fourth inning. The Huskies strung together four hits including a 2-RBI triple off the bat of senior Logan Swann.

Sophomore pitcher Ryan Cunningham's only runs allowed on the day came in that fourth inning, giving up three earned runs in five innings of work. Junior Nick Dorfman and senior Kevin Stocke both tossed 1-2-3 innings in relief on just two days of rest.

UMD rallied back in the seventh frame but wound up just short, leaving the tying run at first base. Freshman infielder Chase Thomas drove Pierce in with single to right field before Stewart followed with an RBI groundout.

UMD 7, SCSU 3

The Bulldogs never faced a deficit in the rematch after scoring the first run in the second inning on an RBI single by senior third baseman Kyle Hoffman. UMD added three runs in the fourth inning on singles from Pierce and Thomas to jump in front 4-0.

After working out of trouble to keep the Huskies off the board in the first five innings, junior Colin Baumgard surrendered a pair of sixth inning runs, bringing the score to 4-2. SCSU tacked on another run in the seventh to pull within one, but would not get any closer.

Hoffman and Pierce picked up their second RBIs of the game in the seventh inning on a pair of singles to give the Bulldogs a three-run lead, before senior outfielder Grant Farley put the home team up 7-3 in the eight frame.

Junior Marcus Frederickson and senior Colton Sinning shut the door out of the bullpen, combining for 2.1 innings of one-hit baseball. Frederickson picked up strikeouts for all four batters he retired.

UP NEXT

UMD will look to build its winning streak this weekend as they travel to face Augustana (S.D.) University for a four-game series beginning on Friday afternoon.