Sioux Falls, SD -- The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs traveled to face the Sioux Falls Cougars on Tuesday afternoon. The Bulldogs went on to defeat the Cougars in both games as they won game one 7-3 and won game two 11-6.
Game One:
The Bulldogs got on the board in the bottom of the first inning as
Trevor Gustafson singled to left field to bring in
Tosten Mann. The Cougars responded with a two run top of the 2nd inning, followed by another run in the top of the fourth. From there, the Bulldogs controlled the rest of the game as the Bulldogs scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Alex Watterman scored after an Cougars error. From there,
Brandt Kolpack singled to right center field as
Ethan Cole scored.
Trevor Gustafson followed that up with a single of his own, as
Austin Gordon scored on the play as the Bulldogs took a 4-3 lead heading into the fifth inning. In the bottom of the 6th inning, the Bulldogs added on three more runs, as
Austin Gordon scored after another Cougars error.
Trevor Gustafson followed that up with a two-run home run to left field. The Bulldogs went on to win 7-3.
Trevor Gustafson went 3-4 in game one, with 4 RBI's.
Tim Pokornowski went 2-4 in game one.
Conor Nygard had a strong showing for the Bulldogs as he went 3.1 innings, struck out 3 batters and did not allow a hit as he picked up his second win on the season.
Game Two:
The Cougars got out to a hot start as they scored three runs in the top of the first inning. The Bulldogs responded in the bottom of the first inning as
Brodie Paulson drove in a run on a single to right field. Alex Watterman followed that up with a two-RBI double to center field that scored
Brodie Paulson and
Tim Pokornowski.
Trevor Gustafson continued his strong day in the bottom of the second inning as he hit a 2-run triple that brought in
Brandt Kolpack and
Ethan Cole. Gustafson later scored after
Tim Pokornowski reached on a Cougars error. The Bulldogs took a 6-3 lead into the 3rd inning. The Bulldogs continued their strong start to game two as
Brodie Paulson hit a solo home run to right field in the bottom of the third.
Tosten Mann drove in a run when he drew a bases loaded walk to make it a 8-3 lead after three innings.
The Cougars answered in the top of the fourth inning after a double to right field that made it a 8-4 Bulldogs lead.
Brodie Paulson managed to drive in another run in the fourth inning as
Tim Pokornowski scored. The Bulldogs went on to add another run in the bottom of the fifth after
Sam Tanner scored on a
Tosten Mann ground out. Mann added another run in the bottom of the 7th inning as he hit a home run to right field to make it 11-4 for the Bulldogs. The Cougars attempted a late game rally as they scored two more runs in the top of the 8th, but the Bulldogs held on for a 11-6 win.
Brandt Kolpack went 3-5 with a run in game two.
Trevor Gustafson,
Brodie Paulson, and
Sam Tanner all had two hits and two runs on the day.
Tosten Mann and
Brodie Paulson both tallied 3 RBI's while Gustafson added 2 RBI's of his own.
Chase Eiden picked up his second win of the season after he went 1.2 innings and gave up just one run and tallied 4 strikeouts.
The Bulldogs will have their home opener on Sunday as they will host Winona State for a double header, followed by a single game on Monday. The series will take place at Wade Stadium.
