May 1, 2021

MADISON, S.D. – Viterbo (Wis.) used a pair of fast starts Saturday in the North Star Athletic Association baseball regular-season finale, sweeping past Dakota State (S.D.) 8-5 and 9-3 at Flynn Field.  The V-Hawks won the four-game series with a 3-1 record, despite not making to the six-team NSAA baseball postseason tournament by one game.

Dakota State fell to 20-23 overall record and finished their North Star conference schedule with a 13-15 record.  The Trojans tied the school record for most NSAA conference wins with the 2016 squad.  DSU also wrapped its home schedule with a 7-7 record, most home wins since 2016.

Viterbo ended their season with an overall record of 17-25 and 12-16 record in the North Star contests. 

DSU awaits to hear about the pairings for the North Star Athletic Association baseball postseason tournament on Sunday late evening.  The Trojans head to Valley City, N.D. for the opening round on Friday, first time since 2018 that the Trojans play in the conference baseball tournament.  The conference tournament is hosted by Valley City State (N.D.), held at Charlie Brown Stadium.

Teams in the NSAA postseason tournament include Bellevue (Neb.), Mayville State (N.D.), Valley City State, Waldorf (Iowa), Dickinson State (N.D.) and Dakota State.

Saturday was Senior Day for eight DSU baseball athletes – Fabian Boria, Micah DeHarty, Samuel Drummond, Esai Hernandez, Kevin Krumm, Chris Kropuenske, Trey Randel, and Jacob Yaeger.

Game 1:  Viterbo (Wis.) 8, Dakota State (S.D.) 5 – FINAL

• Darrian Escobar-Winter opened the game with a double.  Ryan Ellingson followed up with an RBI single to earn a quick 1-0 lead for the V-Hawks.
• The Trojans answered with a run scored in the bottom half of the first inning.  Ryan McDaniel led off with a single.  Jace Pribyl hit a single with one out to advance Alec Gannon (courtesy runner for McDaniel to third base).  Chris Kropuenske hit an RBI single to score Gannon as the Trojans knotted the game at 1-1.
• Ian Bergstrom blasted a lead-off solo home run in the top second, regaining a 2-1 lead for Viterbo.
• The V-Hawks produced three more runs in the top third frame.  Ellingson led off with a single.  Cole Benson smashed a 2-run home run to balloon their lead to 4-1. 
• Braxton Ghelfi hit a double with two outs in the top third for VU.  Zach Braun reached safely on base by DSU's defensive error, allowing Ghelfi to score for 5-1 V-Hawks' lead.
• The Trojans scored once in the bottom fourth.  Chris Burke started with a single.  He advanced to second base after VU's passed ball.  Burke advanced to third base as Walker Hultgren hit a ground out.  McDaniel drilled an RBI double to score Burke as DSU trailed 5-2.
• With runner on first base in the top seventh. Zach Earll hit an RBI double with two outs as the V-Hawks' lead grew to 6-2.  Escobar-Winter followed with a 2-run home run to widen their lead to 8-2.
• The Trojans scored once in the bottom half of the seventh inning.  Drummond reached safely on base caused by VU's error.  Jace Pribyl added a single to advance Drummond to second base.
• Kropuenske hit a single to set up a bases loaded situation with two outs in the bottom eighth.  Josh Van Beek recorded an RBI walk to score Drummond as the Trojans cut VU's lead to 8-3.
• W. Hultgren blasted his first career collegiate home run to lead off the eighth inning as DSU reduced their deficit to 8-4.
• Kropuenske was hit-by-pitch with two outs in the bottom ninth frame.  Van Beek followed up with a double to advance Kropuenske to third base.  Burke reached safely on base by Viterbo's defensive error, allowing Kropuenske to score as Trojans trimmed their deficit to 8-5.
• The V-Hawks secured the victory as DSU left two runners on base when the game ended.
• McDaniel, Kropuenske, Burke, and W. Hultgren each had two hits and an RBI for Dakota State.  McDaniel and W. Hultgren each hit a home run.  Pribyl added two singles.  Van Beek had a double and an RBI. 
• Escobar-Winter and Benson each had two hits (including a home run each) and drove in two runs for Viterbo.  Ellingson and Bergstrom each had two hits and an RBI (Bergstrom hit a home run).  Ghelfi had a double and single.  Earll tallied a double and an RBI.  Remy Stern had a single.
• The V-Hawks outhit the Trojans 14-12 in the game.  Both teams left 12 runners on base.
• Randel (L, 3-4) took the defeat on the pitching mound for DSU.  He pitched five innings and gave up five runs on 10 hits.  He struck out six VU's batters.  Logan Terfehr worked for two innings in relief, allowing three runs on two hits.  Krumm and Yaeger each pitched a scoreless inning in relief.
• Eddie Del Real (W, 1-1) earned the victory after tossing 6 2/3 innings.  He allowed three runs on 10 hits and registered seven strikeouts.  Ben Sranske worked for 1 1/3 innings in relief, while Peter Rossman pitched the ninth inning.  Sranske and Rossman each gave up a run on one hit.

Game 2:  Viterbo (Wis.) 9, Dakota State (S.D.) 3 – FINAL

• The V-Hawks racked nine total runs in the first two innings, rolling to a 9-3 victory in the four-game series finale.
• Viterbo exploded for five runs to kick off the game in the top first.  Escobar-Winter and Ellingson hit back-to-back singles followed by Kevin Brandt's hit-by-pitch to set up a bases loaded situation.  Benson produced a 2-RBI single to score Escobar-Winter and Ellingson to give VU 2-0 lead (Brandt advanced to third and Benson advanced to second on throw). 
• Bergstrom added a 2-RBI single to score Brandt and Benson to extend Viterbo's lead to 4-0 in the top first.  Earll added an RBI single to make it 5-0 in favor of the V-Hawks.
• Dakota State answered with a run scored in the bottom first.  Burke led off with a single.  He advanced to second base after a ground out by Jackson O'Neal.  Pribyl hit an RBI double to score Burke as the Trojans trailed 5-1.
• After the first two outs recorded in the top second inning, Viterbo plated four runs.  Benson led off with a double and scored home after Bergstrom's RBI single to make it 6-1 VU.  Ghelfi hit a single to advance Bergstrom to third base.
• Braun hit a 2-RBI double to score Bergstrom and Ghelfi in the top second.  Braun scored home on the same play caused by DSU's defensive error, ballooning VU's lead to 9-1.
• The Trojans ended its scoring drought with a pair of runs in the bottom seventh.  Kropuenske led off with a single.  Kropuenske advanced to second base after a passed ball by Viterbo.  Van Beek drilled an RBI double to score Kropuenske (DSU trailed 9-2).
• Shain Kimmes hit an RBI single to score Van Beek in the bottom seventh frame (DSU down 9-3).  The V-Hawks secured the victory as the Trojans left two runners on base when the game ended.
• Burke was 3-of-4 at the plate with a double and two singles for Dakota State.  Pribyl and Van Beek each added a double and an RBI.  Kimmes had a single and an RBI.  Kropuenske had a single.
• Benson was 3-of-4 at the plate with a double, two singles and drove in two runs for Viterbo.  Bergstrom added two singles and collected three RBIs.  Braun had a double and two RBIs.  Ellingson had two hits.  Earll had a hit and an RBI.
• VU had 11 hits in the game compared to DSU seven hits.  The Trojans left five runners on base, while the V-Hawks had four runners left on base.
• Carver Hultgren (L, 2-5) took the pitching defeat for DSU.  He pitched two innings and gave up nine runs (one unearned) on nine hits.  JD Kirchner tossed four scoreless innings in relief.  He registered a season-high six strikeouts.  David Ruddy tossed a shutout sixth inning in relief.
• Kyle Gilbertson (W, 2-4) pitched a complete game victory for VU.  He allowed three runs on seven hits.  He struck out nine DSU's batters.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director