(Story by: Zach Koenig)
Aberdeen, SD—The University of Minnesota-Morris baseball team halted a three-game losing streak and started a winning streak on Tuesday by defeating Presentation College 6-0 and 6-4.
The first contest was dominated by Cougar starting pitcher Nik Randall (So. Burnsville, MN), who pitched seven shutout innings. Randall allowed just five hits, none of them going for extra bases.
UMM’s offense did its part to help Randall feel comfortable on the mound, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning. Three consecutive walks taken from Kevin Pope (Sr. Ely, MN), Nick Hervin (Sr. Cold Spring, MN), and Greg Roth (Sr. Cold Spring, MN) set the table for Kirby Marquart’s (Sr. Hancock, MN) RBI single, Matt Throngard’s (So. Grantsburg, WI) RBI ground-out, and a Presentation error that led to the third Cougar run of the inning.
The Cougars extended their lead to 4-0 in the third inning when singles from Roth and Dan Folie (Jr. Fridley, MN) were followed by a Marquart double.
Also, despite just one hit—a Roth double—in the fifth inning, UMM took advantage of two more Presentation errors to pad their lead to 6-0.
Minnesota-Morris only had three players contribute hits in the contest, but each of those players achieved multi-hit games: Roth (2-3, 1 RBI, 3 R), Folie (2-4), and Marquart (2-4, 2 RBI). Both Pope (2 BB, 1 R) and Hervin (2 BB, 2 R) padded their on-base percentages.
In the second game, the Cougars again jumped out to a 3-0 lead, this time in the third inning. Singles from Sean Mooney-Leber (So. Minneapolis, MN) and Pope set the table for RBI hits from Hervin and Roth.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Presentation scored twice off UMM starter Lee Arvold (Fr. Blaine, MN).
The Cougars quickly jumped back on the offensive in the fifth inning thanks to consecutive singles from Pope, Hervin, and Roth, with the big blow coming via a two-run double from Folie to increase the lead to 6-2.
Presentation again rallied to score two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, but Minnesota-Morris reliever Roth stopped the damage and preserved the victory.
Starring offensively for the Cougars were Roth (3-4, 1 RBI, 1 R), Hervin (2-2, 3 RBI, 2 R), Pope (2-4, 2 R), and Folie (1-2, 2 RBI, 2 BB). Also collecting hits for the Cougars were Throngard and Mooney-Leber.
Arvold allowed just two earned runs and six hits in five innings to pick up the win, while Roth’s two perfect innings garnered him the save.
 |  |
| Minnesota-Morris | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Presentation | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| Game 1 |
| |
| Minnesota-Morris | 6 | 11 | 2 |
| Presentation | 4 | 8 | 1 |
| Game 2 |
