(Story by: Zach Koenig)
Morris, MN—Fresh off a two-game winning streak, the University of Minnesota-Morris baseball team could not keep momentum in their favor, losing three times to Northland College on Wednesday by scores of 4-2, 14-0, and 9-5.
The first contest proved to be the tightest of all three.
Northland gained a 2-0 advantage in the third inning off Cougar starting pitcher Andy Schuster (So. Alberta, MN), but UMM tied the game in the fourth on the combination of a Northland error, Kevin Pope (Sr. Ely, MN) getting hit by the pitch, and hits from Nick Hervin (Sr. Cold Spring, MN) and Greg Roth (Sr. Cold Spring, MN).
However, the Cougars could not do any more damage the rest of the way, and Northland struck again in the sixth inning, scoring twice and bringing the final score to 4-2.
Schuster (1-4) took the loss despite pitching well, only allowing three earned runs and striking out five in seven innings of work.
Offensively, Pope and Hervin each collected a hit and scored a run in the contest. Matt Peterson (So. Burnsville, MN), Dan Folie (Jr. Fridley, MN), Matt Throngard (So. Grantsburg, WI), and Erik Jahn (Fr. Minneapolis, MN) each added one hit apiece.
The second contest quickly turned into a disaster for UMM, as Northland put five runs on the board in the opening frame and didn’t slow down from there, also scoring in the third, fourth, fifth, and seventh innings.
The Cougars could not muster any offense against Northland’s mound combination of Bryce Szymanksi and Alex Tsomaya, gaining just five hits in the seven innings.
Collecting the hits for Minnesota-Morris were Folie (2-3), Kirby Marquart (Sr. Hancock, MN) (1-3), Peterson (1-3), and Throngard (1-2).
UMM starter Roth (1-2) took the loss by allowing 12 hits and eight earned runs through four innings. Joe Boedigheimer (Jr. Moose Lake, MN) pitched two innings in relief and allowed two earned runs, while Nate Haseman (Fr. Butterfield, MN) pitched the final inning and saw three runs cross the plate (although only one was earned).
The Cougars finally grabbed a lead in the first inning of the third contest when Peterson led off with a double and eventually scored on fielder’s choice.
Northland retook the lead in the third inning by banging out three runs against UMM starter Hervin.
Not to be deterred, Minnesota-Morris jumped back out in front in the bottom of the third inning with three runs of their own. A Folie walk, sandwiched between singles from Hervin, Roth, and Marquart, put the Cougars ahead 4-3.
In the fifth inning, however, Northland put the final nail in the coffin by scoring four runs off Hervin to take a 7-5 lead.
The Cougars added a single run in the bottom of the fifth inning on doubles from Roth and Marquart, but could not produce enough offense to tie the game.
Northland added single runs (both unearned) in the sixth and seventh innings off UMM reliever Kyle Blair (Fr. Calgary, Alberta).
Starring offensively for the Cougars were Peterson (3-4, 1 R), Hervin (2-4, 1 R), Roth (2-4, 2 R), and Marquart (2-4, 3 RBI).
Hervin (0-2) took the loss by allowing seven runs (although only three were earned) in five innings, while Blair pitched the final two frames and saw two unearned runs cross the plate.
With the trifecta of losses, the Cougars now sit at 9-21 on the season, 4-11 in UMAC play.
 | .jpg) |
| Minnesota-Morris | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| Northland | 4 | 9 | 4 |
| Game 1 |
Box Score
| |
| Minnesota-Morris | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| Northland | 14 | 17 | 1 |
| Game 2 |
Box Score
| |
| Minnesota-Morris | 5 | 9 | 6 |
| Northland | 9 | 11 | 4 |
| Game 3 |
Box Score
