The University of Minnesota Duluth used three home runs in the fifth inning to jump in front of the third-seeded St. Cloud State University, but the Huskies scored four of the game's final five runs to hold off UMD in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament opener. Sophomore third baseman Ben Danielson continued to be the most reliable hitter in the Bulldog lineup, driving in a game-high four runs including his third home run of the season.

UMD struck first in the opening frame thanks to Danielson's RBI single up the middle to drive in junior outfielder Brett Milazzo, but the lead was short-lived as SCSU notched a four-run bottom of the inning to pull ahead 4-1. 

After the teams traded runs in the fourth inning, the Bulldogs sparked a four-run fifth inning beginning with a two-run homer over the center field wall by Danielson. Senior outfielder Grant Farley worked a full count and followed up with a home run of his own to mark back-to-back shots and even the score at five. The UMD bats continued the power show in the fifth inning, as senior outfielder Matt Vogt launched a solo-home run to right field to put the Bulldogs on top 6-5.

Once again, St. Cloud State was able to respond in the bottom half of the inning by tying the game at 6-6 following an RBI-single by first baseman Mathew Meyer. The Huskies tacked on three more runs in the seventh inning to extend their lead to 9-6, which proved to be all the run support they would need.

UMD scored a lone run in the ninth inning on a sacrifice fly by Danielson but were unable to scratch across any further runs, falling by a final score of 9-7.

Danielson finished the game 2-for-3 with a run scored and four RBI, while Milazzo added three hits in four tries and scored a pair of runs. Farley and Vogt each posted two hits, an RBI, and a run scored in the loss.

Junior pitcher Marcus Frederickson started the game on the mound and tossed 6.1 innings, allowing seven earned runs on 10 hits. Senior southpaw Kevin Stocke recorded the remaining five outs for UMD while surrendering just one hit and no runs.

Following the loss, the Bulldogs will face Concordia University-St. Paul tomorrow afternoon at 12:30 in St. Cloud, Minn. Each team will look for a victory in order to continue their NSIC Tournament run.