Knecht vs. ESU
Abbie Tessendorf
8
Sioux Falls USF 8-24, 7-11 NSIC
12
Winner Northern State NSU 10-17, 5-11 NSIC
Sioux Falls USF
8-24, 7-11 NSIC
8
Final
12
Northern State NSU
10-17, 5-11 NSIC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Sioux Falls USF 2 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 2 8 10 5
Northern State NSU 0 0 2 0 3 3 0 0 4 12 10 3

W: Mundt, Christian (1-1) L: Gaber, Reese (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Knecht’s Walk-Off Grand Slam Clinches Series Win

Wayne, Neb. – The Northern State baseball team secured their first series win of the season with a walk-off 12-8 win over Sioux Falls at Hank Overin Field in Wayne, Nebraska, on Saturday. After the Cougars tied the game in the top of the ninth, Connor Knecht delivered the hit of the game with a grand slam over the left field fence.
 
THE QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: NSU 12, USF 8
Records: NSU 10-17 (5-11 NSIC), USF 8-24 (7-11 NSIC)
Attendance: 47
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Sioux Falls picked up where they left off after game two, tallying four hits and two runs in top of the first inning
  • Northern State held the Cougars scoreless in the second inning, and despite two Max Otto strikeouts in the top of the third added one run to push the lead to 3-0 after the top of the third inning
  • The Wolves got on the scoreboard with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning as Austin Portner scored on a passed ball and an RBI single through the left side from Reece Ragatz scored Karson Hesser
  • Otto once again struck out a pair of USF batters in the top of the fourth and the Cougars then went 3-up, 3-down in the top of the fifth
  • Northern took the lead for the first time in the series finale with a 3-run homerun to left field by Kai Brisk in the bottom of the fifth, scoring Ragatz and Jack Paulson to make the score 5-3 in favor of the Wolves
  • Sioux Falls regained the lead in the top of the sixth inning with a pair of unearned runs on a 2-RBI single up the middle and an RBI ground out to take a 6-5 advantage
  • The back-and-forth action continued into the bottom of the sixth as Northern State tied the game with Connor Knecht scoring on a passed ball, a fielding error by the right fielder allowed Jordan DeMarce to round third and score, and another passed ball allowed Portner to score and give NSU the 8-6 edge
  • Cooper Tessendorf took the mound in relief in the top of the seventh and pitched a pair of scoreless innings while tallying three strikeouts
  • The Cougars tied the game at eight in the top of the ninth with a 2-run homerun to left field
  • A pair of walks and an error loaded the bases with no outs for Northern in the bottom of the ninth as Knecht stepped to the plate and launched a grand slam over the left field fence to score Jackson Meyer, Niko Pezonella, and Jonah Schmidt to clinch the series win
  • Christian Mundt (1-1) made his ninth relief appearance of the season, closing out the top of the ninth inning for the Wolves and earning his first career win on the mound
  • Northern State scored their 12 runs off ten hits, and committed three errors defensively
NORTHERN STATE STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
Jack Paulson: 3-for-5, 1 double, 1 run scored
Connor Knecht: 3-for-5, 1 homerun, 4 RBI, 2 runs scored
Kai Brisk: 1-for-3, 1 homerun, 1 walk, 3 RBI, 1 run scored
Max Otto: 6.0 innings pitched, 7 strikeouts
 
UP NEXT
Next week Northern State is slated to play at Bemidji State for a mid-week doubleheader with 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. start times on Wednesday afternoon. With the colder than normal temperatures and snowy conditions this spring, fans are reminded to stay tuned to nsuwolves.com and the Wolves Athletics social media accounts for all spring schedule changes.
 
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