SCSU Baseball and Softball Earn Splits, Twins Choke Against KC

The St. Cloud State University baseball and softball teams split their doubleheaders on Saturday, while the Minnesota Twins fizzled out at the end of game three to give Kansas City their first win of the series. On Sunday, the St. John's baseball team will host Gustavus in a doubleheader.

RECAPS:

- The SCSU baseball team split their Saturday doubleheader at UMD. St. Cloud dropped game one 7-6 in extra innings. Duluth scored the walk-off run in the bottom of the ninth. SCSU held on in game two to win 14-9. The Huskies pushed out to a 9-2 lead in the fourth inning but found their lead slashed to 9-8 by the end of the fifth. St. Cloud ran in five more in the sixth to secure the win. John Nett scored three runs on the day and tallied his 200th career hit with SCSU. Sam Riola also scored three runs and tied the program's career home run record with his 35th. The Huskies are now 25-15, 17-8 NSIC, while the Bulldogs improve to 17-24 and 10-18 NSIC. The teams will close out the series with game three in Duluth on Sunday. First pitch is set for noon.

- The SCSU softball team split two with Augustana at home Saturday. The Huskies earned a 4-1 win in game one thanks to a three-run performance in the second inning. St. Cloud was unable to replicate that momentum, falling 9-2 in game two. Six different players scored a run for the Huskies between the two games. Junker Trinity pitched the entire first game, striking out five batters and allowing one run on six hits. In game two, Lauren Kirchberg, Justyce Porter, and Emma Eickhoff combined for four strikeouts, 14 hits, and nine runs. The Huskies are now 30-17 and 15-7 NSIC. St. Cloud will stay at Selke Field Sunday as they host Wayne State (12-38, 7-20 NSIC) Sunday in their final doubleheader of the regular season. Game one is set for noon, followed by game two at 2:00 p.m.

- The Twins lost game three to the Royals 3-2 at home on Saturday. After three scoreless innings, Minnesota finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Kansas City tied things up in the fifth and in the bottom of the seventh, the Twins retook the lead 2-1. Minnesota surrendered two more runs to KC, one in the top of the eighth and one more in the top of the ninth, to hand over the win. Byron Buxton led Minnesota, scoring both runs for the team in the loss. Bailey Ober threw six strikeouts and allowed four hits and one run in the first 5 2/3 innings. The Twins fall to 16-12 and the Royals improve to 7-21. The teams will finish the series with game four at Target Field Sunday. Pre-game coverage begins at noon on AM 1240 and 95.3 FM WJON.

PREVIEWS:

- The Johnnies (17-12, 8-4 MIAC) will honor their seniors when they host Gustavus (21-10, 12-2 MIAC) in a doubleheader on Sunday. The series is tied at 29-29 dating back to 1997. Last season, the Johnnies swept the Gusties in the regular season series, but Gustavus swept SJU in the MIAC tournament. St. John's is currently riding a three-game winning streak and sits one place behind Gustavus in the conference standings. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. in Collegeville.