Tucson, Ariz. – The Northern State University baseball team opened the 2016 season with a victory over Southwest Minnesota State in non-conference action. The Wolves took down the Mustangs 17-7 from Tucson to improve to 1-0 overall.
The Mustangs jumped out to a quick lead in the bottom of the first inning, tallying four runs off NSU starter
Colton Boucher. Boucher settled in and threw 5.1 innings for NSU giving up only two more runs and striking out four in 24 batters faced.
Nate Zeise entered in the sixth to hold SMSU scoreless and keep the Wolves in the game.
Northern tacked on their first run of the game with a
Jack Schmidt homer to left center in the top of the seventh. Southwest quickly answered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning, however the Wolves were not done.
Tyler Gripentrog started the NSU rally in the eighth with a double to right center.
Preston Brown and
Matt Stubbs followed with a pair of walks to load the bases for sophomore
Lucas Lorenz. Lorenz smashed a grand slam to left center, cutting into the Mustang lead by two. Schmidt continued his solid day, reaching base after being hit by a pitch. He quickly advanced to third off a single by
Ben Allen to the shortstop. It was
Chris Gonzales' turn at the plate to make things happen. The junior tallied his first Northern State hit in dramatic fashion with a three run home run to left field to capture the lead.
The Wolves added nine more runs in the top of the ninth to seal the victory. Stubbs led off the inning with a walk and Northern kept the good vibes rolling. After a trio of runs to open the inning, Stubbs stepped back to the plate with runners first and second. The senior added to the NSU homerun total for the game, going opposite field down the right field line to lengthen the NSU lead by ten.
Isiah Greene notched his first win of the season, throwing one inning with a strikeout.
Andrew Nichols and
Kris Johnson also tallied an inning apiece for the team, while holding the Mustangs scoreless.
Tyler Gripentrog led the team with three hits and two runs scored. Stubbs, Allen, and
Mikey Barreneche each recorded multiple hit games with two, while
Lucas Lorenz and
Chris Gonzales led the team with four runs batted in apiece.
The Wolves combined for 13 hits and 17 runs scored, with 14 runs batted in. Northern will be back in action tomorrow from Tucson versus Mount Marty College. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. (MT) from the Kino Sports Complex.
