Southwest Minnesota St. Sweeps Duluth Again

 

Southwest Minnesota State swept another pair of games from Minnesota Duluth today as they continued games in Ft. Myers, FL.  With the sweep SMSU moves to 8-0 on the season which is their best in school history.  Duluth (8-10) has now lost 6 straight games and has seen their pitching staff ravaged in the process.

In game 1, the Mustangs got a RBI single in the bottom of the 7th inning by Matt Bauer to win a close contest 10-9.  Bauer, a junior third baseman from Tracy, MN, then starred again in game 2 as he hit a 2 run homer to help lead the team to an easier 10-3 win. 

SMSU continues in Florida with a doubleheader tomorrow against Bethel before playing an exhibition game on Friday against the Minnesota Twins.

Minnesota Duluth is finished in Florida and has a final pair of non-conference games against Concordia on March 25th before starting Conference play.

SMSU Off to Record 8-0 Start

College Baseball News of Note

Here are some of the college baseball stories that have caught my eye over recent days that I thought you might like to take a look at –

• As reported back in late February, the University of Northern Iowa announced that they were dropping college baseball (UNI Drops Baseball).  Now the University is holding out hope that they can fund raise enough donations to keep the program alive.  They are looking to raise $1.2 Million dollars in pledges by April 5th in order to save baseball which has been played at the school for the past 103 years.  You can view their progress or make a donation here – Support UNI Baseball
• Rivals does a very good job of covering college baseball.  They recently published their Top 100 High School Prospects.  It’s interesting that all but 1 of them is already committed to a school for next year (of course this is before MLB could draft and sign them).  I was struck by how few of the Top 100 came from northern schools.  I counted 1 kid each from IL, IA, MI, KS and IN but the rest of them all come from the south.  It’s no wonder that northern schools struggle to compete as both the weather and talent pool gives the south a decided advantage.  Rivals Top 100 High School Prospects
• The Minnesota High School baseball season kicks off in 2 short weeks.  A large number of Northern Sun players come out of Minnesota so it’s worth keeping track of the top teams.  The MN Coaches Association has published their pre-season rankings for 2009.  Minnesota Preseason High School Rankings

Midweek Northern Sun Update – 3/18/09

A number of Northern Sun Conference teams are still playing spring trip games in Florida as we approach this weekend and the start of Conference play.

• Our lead story – Minnesota Crookston (2-11) sweeps Minnesota Morris!  Not only that but they won 13-2 and 16-0!  While I want to congratulate the Golden Eagles it does bring up the question about how bad Morris must be to lose 2 games to Crookston by those scores.  Although Morris won 9 games last year they are currently 0-6 and have lost badly in every contest to date.
• Southwest Minnesota State (6-0) continued its winning ways with a 6-3 victory over Carthage College – a team ranked #28 in Division 3 baseball.  The Mustangs got strong pitching from starter Derek Bjoraker and Mark Bendzick who picked up the win and save respectively.  Bjoraker allowed just 2 hits in 5+ innings but did walk 8.  SMSU is 6-0 for the first time since 1997.  Mustangs Continue Winning Streak
• On the other hand, Minnesota Duluth (8-8) continued its losing streak as they lost to that same Carthage team, 15-2 and also lost a game earlier in the day to the College of Wooster by a score of 5-3.  These are a tough pair of D3 teams as Carthage is ranked #28 and Wooster is ranked #14 in the current NCBWA poll.  The Bulldogs could not get their bats going all day as Josh Foreman was the only Duluth athlete to have more than 1 hit on the day, going 2 for 4.  Duluth finishes their spring trip today with a doubleheader against SMSU – the team that set all kinds of records in beating them 34-1 just the other day.  Tough Times Continue for UMD
• Wayne State (8-5) won its 4th straight game with a 15-3 win over Morningside College.  The Wildcats were led at the plate by Justin Hemauer who was 3-5 with a triple and 2 doubles.  Wayne State got a dominating performance by their freshman starting pitcher, Eric Schwieger, who pitched 5 innings giving up just 1 hit and no runs which upped his record on the season to 3-0.  Seven Run 4th Carries WSC
• Finally, Augustana (8-6) had a dramatic comeback against Dakota Wesleyen to win 13-10 in 10 innings.  The Vikings had trailed 10-5 entering the 8th inning but got 2 in that frame along with 3 in the top of the 9th to force overtime.  At the plate, the Augie’s were led by Ian Strum who had 2 homers and 5 RBI’s as well as by Jeff Green who was 4-5 on the day.  It was Strum’s 3 run homer in the 9th that sent the game to extras.  Augustana opens Conference play this weekend against Concordia.  Vikings Baseball Win