May 4, 2018
Photos credit by Valley City State (N.D.) Sports Information
NSAA BASEBALL TOURNAMENT HEADQUARTER
VALLEY CITY, N.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) came to play in the opening round of the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) Baseball Postseason Tournament by defeating No. 1 seed and defending tournament's champion Mayville State (N.D.) 13-3 in eight innings Friday afternoon at Charlie Brown Stadium.
It was the first-ever win for the Trojans in the North Star Baseball Postseason conference tournament history, which they improved their overall record to 5-30. Mayville State, receiving votes in the latest NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25 national poll, is being forced in the loser's bracket of the Charlie Brown Stadium with an overall record of 30-12.
Dakota State's offense was credited for 15 hits in the game, being led by first baseman Hayden Klibbe who had two hits on the day with four RBIs. Marcos Alvarez homered in the bottom of the third inning to help get the Trojans' offense rolling.
Not only did DSU had a stellar day offensively, they also had a lot of help from the mound with senior Garrison Collier (W, 2-5) pitching a complete game. Collier struck out a career-high 10 Comets and allowed just three runs over eight innings.
Leading 8-3 in the bottom eighth inning, the Trojans exploded for five runs to ten-run rule the Comets. Alec Gannon and Jalen Boyd led off with back-to-back singles. Both advanced one base after a passed ball by the Comets. Jordan Hofer followed up with a walk to set up a bases loaded situation for DSU.
Connor Nagel produced a 2-RBI single to score Gannon and Boyd to balloon Trojans' lead to 10-3 (Micah DeHarty, courtesy runner for Hofer, advanced to third base).
The Trojans made it 11-3 when Dyshawn Prouldove hit an RBI single to score DeHarty (Nagel advanced to second base). Klibbe added an RBI single with one out to score Nagel as DSU's grew to 12-3 (Proudlove advanced to third base).
Alvarez closed the game by hitting an RBI sacrifice fly to score Proudlove, securing the win for DSU.
Every DSU batters had a hit in the game. Christian Sanchez was 3-of-4 at the plate with two RBIs. Boyd tallied two singles and two RBIs. Hofer had a triple and two walks, while DeHarty scored twice as a courtesy runner. Nagel had a hit and two RBIs. Proudlove hit a double, two singles and collected two RBIs. Samuel Drummond registered a single and an RBI.
Andrew Hill was 2-of-3 with two singles and a run scored for MSU. Austin Monson had a hit and an RBI. Riley Nelson, Jonathan Pluth, Zachary Foster and Obie Wilder each had a hit.
Conner Starke (L, 2-1) suffered the defeat after recording just two outs in the first inning for the Comets. He allowed three runs and issued four walks. Osvaldo Escobar worked for 7 1/3 innings in relief, giving up 10 runs on 15 hits.
Dakota State plays No. 4 seed Presentation (S.D.), who defeated No. 5 seed Waldorf (Iowa) 17-11 in the other opening round of the Charlie Brown Stadium bracket Friday evening, in the winner's game on Saturday afternoon. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. in Valley City.
The winner of the game will move on to the Charlie Brown Stadium Bracket's championship game on Sunday afternoon at Jack Brown Stadium in Jamestown, N.D. The loser will play immediately following the 2 p.m. against the winner of Mayville State-Waldorf game, which is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday.
Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director
