St. Cloud, Minn. – The Northern State University baseball team was eliminated Friday from the NSIC Tournament with a 7-5 loss to Minnesota Duluth. With the loss, the Wolves finish the season 22-24 overall after their third straight appearance in the NSIC Tournament.
 
Northern fell behind early, as the Bulldogs tallied three runs in the top of the first inning. Although NSU relief pitcher Phil Sauer held UMD scoreless through the middle innings, Minnesota Duluth added four more runs in the fifth and sixth to take a 7-0 lead.
 
With their backs against the wall, the Wolves battled in the bottom of the seventh inning led off by a Matt Stubbs double. Stubbs came around to score on the next at-bat, as Lucas Lorenz singled. Ben Allen reached base on an error by the second baseman, leaving runners on first and second for shortstop Mikey Barreneche. The junior singled and loaded the bases for Kolin Kubitz who doubled scoring both Lorenz and Allen. Barreneche came around to score the final run of the inning on a passed ball, to bring the Wolves within two of the Bulldogs. NSU however was unable to rally in their final two innings at the plate and ultimately fell to the Bulldogs.
 
The Wolves combined four six team hits in the game, off the bats of Matt Stubbs, Lucas Lorenz, Ben Allen, Mikey Barreneche, Kolin Kubitz, and Preston Brown. Stubbs and Kubitz notched the team's two extra base hits, while Kubitz led the team with two RBI.
 
Cody Vandever started for the Wolves giving up just two earned runs on five hits in two innings of work. Sauer threw five complete innings, and gave up just one earned run and three unearned runs. Colton Landreth, Nate Zeise, and Luke Chevalier entered to throw a combined two scoreless innings of play. The NSU staff notched six strikeouts in the game, led by Sauer with three.
 
Northern State's six seniors, Colton Boucher, Jeff Rideout, Cody Vandever, Dillon Lee, Matt Stubbs, and Marcus Manderbach exhausted their eligibility with the Wolves.