Game 1 Game 2 Game 3
St. Cloud State won both ends of a double header against the UW-Parkside baseball team in the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Saturday. The Huskies won the opener, 8-2, then captured Game 2, 7-3. On Sunday, two more games were scheduled, but only one was played due to time limits. The lone game on Sunday was a wild 14-7, eight-inning affair, won by St. Cloud.
In the season opener, St. Cloud tallied two runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Rangers cut the lead in half with their first run of the season in the top of the third. Tyler Gieseking tripled to the gap in right-center field. He scored when Dave Lojeski came up with a clutch two-out hit up the middle.
St. Cloud then opened a wide margin with three in the bottom half of the third frame.
The Rangers scored their second run in the top of the seventh. Mike Pena who doubled down the left field line to lead off the inning, eventually scored on a ground out.
Jon Kleinmeyer was the losing pitcher. He gave up five earned runs in five innings and was relieved by Nick Mishevich, who gave up two runs in the bottom of the sixth.
In Saturday's second game, Michael Bjerke was the losing pitcher, going only one inning.
The Rangers scored all three of their runs in the top of the seventh inning, in a frame which started with two hit batsmen.
On Sunday, the Ranger bats came alive, but the defense let them down. Parkside committed four errors which let to eight Huskie unearned runs.
Down, 7-4 going into the bottom of the seventh, the Rangers rallied for three runs to force extra innings. The Huskies then put the game away with a seven-spot in the top of the eighth.
Josh Hudnut was the losing pitcher in relief. Seven runs crossed the plate during his two innings on the mound; however, only two of them were earned.
Lojeski and Ben Korman each were 3-4 in the contest which saw the Rangers out-hit the Huskies, 15-13.
The Rangers will travel south to Ouachita Baptist to take on Ouachita Baptist and North Alabama Saturday, Feb. 20, before returning to the Metrodome the following weekend to battle Minnesota State Mankato and Jamestown College in doubleheaders.
