Game 1 Box
Game 2 Box

ABERDEEN, S.D. – On a day that featured a one-hour rain delay, a 12-inning pitcher's duel and a pair of one-run games that started in the sun and finished under the lights, the Northern State University Wolves hammered out a hard-fought sweep of the visiting University of Minnesota, Crookston Golden Eagles on Thursday.

NSU snared an unearned run in the bottom of the twelfth inning to earn a 2-1 victory in the opener in a game that lasted a shade under three hours before turning around and blazing through seven innings in just over an hour, finishing out a 1-0 victory under the lights to complete the sweep.  NSU is now 3-2 in extra-inning affairs.

With the wins, the Wolves improved to 14-25 overall and 7-12 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.  UMC slipped to 8-26 on the season and 2-18 in league games.

After wading through an hour-long delay following a 20-minute rain shower, the two teams settled in for a scoreless battle that featured several key defensive plays by both teams.  The Wolves also squandered a pair of bases-loaded opportunities in the second and third innings before finally getting on the board in the bottom of the sixth when freshman Lindsey Hubler doubled home Ashley Gabler from second with two outs.

UMC, however, answered with a manufactured run in the top of the seventh.  Serena Diederichs led off with a single and moved around on a sacrifice bunt and a ground out before scoring on a Kelli Burns single to tie the game.  Burns was thrown out at second, trying to stretch her hit into a double to end the inning.

The Golden Eagles also threatened to break the stalemate in the top of the twelfth after getting back-to-back singles to lead off the inning.  NSU pitcher Kelley Suggs put and end to the threat, however, with a pair of strikeouts – her eighth and ninth of the game – and a groundout.

The Wolves then took advantage of two UMC errors in the bottom half of the stanza to score the winning run.  NSU loaded the bases using a single, an error and a walk with no one out, chasing UMC starting pitcher Steph Thomas from the game as she neared the 200-pitch mark.  Reliever Erin Fowle came on to get the first out, but fell victim to a second defensive miscue that allowed Rachel South to score from third for the winning run.

Suggs, who also finished with more than 150 pitches, picked up her team-leading seventh win of the season with the complete-game outing.  The senior left-hander allowed just one run on eight hits while striking out nine batters.  She also had two of the Wolves' seven hits from the plate, as did sophomore catcher Kelsey Robling.

UMC was led by Diederichs, who went 4-for-5 from the plate, accounting for fully half of the Golden Eagles' eight hits.

Game 2, by comparison, was nearly lightning quick, finishing nearly two hours faster than the opener.  The Wolves struck for an unearned run in the fourth inning, using three Golden Eagle errors to plate the game's only run, and rode junior Kelli Bornander's four-hit, four-strikeout shutout effort for the win.

NSU was held to just three hits by UMC's Stacy Marcum, those coming off the bats of Suggs, Ashley Gabler and Lindsey Cegla, but was able to take advantage of the opportunity created by the Golden Eagles' defensive let-down in the fourth.

The Wolves will close out the home portion of the 2011 season this weekend, hosting Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday and Minnesota State on Sunday in a pair of NSIC doubleheaders.  First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. on Saturday, while Sunday's action will kick off at noon.  All four games will be played at Moccasin Creek Complex.