K-Heart Sports – 04/08/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 04/08/23 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – It was an exciting finish at Maysa Arena last night as the Minot Minotauros defeated the Austin Bruins 3-2 in a shootout. Chase LaPinta was the only play to score in the shootout. Trevor Stachowiak got the Tauros on the board at 6:23 of the second period. The Bruins would respond tying it at 1-1 through two periods. They would get another one in the third before Weston Knox tied it at 2-2 at 10:52 of the third. Noah Rupprecht made 36 saves for the Tauros who improve to 29-26 with 60 points in the standings. They remain in the fourth, and final, playoff spot in the NAHL Central Division, 16 points behind Austin who has already clinched the division.
 
The Bismarck Bobcats also won on Friday night, defeating the North Iowa Bulls 3-0. The Bobcats are in last place in the Central Division, but only two points behind Minot.
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MINOT STATE SOFTBALL
 
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – The Beaver softball team’s flare for the dramatic led to a 4-3 comeback win over two-time defending NSIC champion Augustana on Friday, as the Minot State softball team got a split at home in the air-supported dome. Abby Lohse’s RBI sacrifice fly led to a walk-off, 4-3 win for the host Beavers (17-13 overall, 4-4 NSIC), who scored all their runs in their final two at-bats. Augustana took the day’s opener 4-2. Minot State next hosts Wayne State today in another NSIC doubleheader starting at 8 a.m.
 
GAME 1 | Augustana 4, Minot State 2
 
Augustana was too much for Minot State on this particular day, as the Beavers fell 4-2 on Friday. Sophomore Reegan Floyd (6-7) started and took the loss in the circle for Minot State. The right-hander went seven innings, giving up four runs, three earned, on eight hits, allowing two walks and striking out three. In the batter’s box, the Beavers were paced by freshman Paige Kellogg, who went 2-for-3 on the day with a double, a walk and an RBI. Senior Leo Watson furnished a noteworthy performance at the plate as well, going 2-for-3 with a double and a walk. Junior Brooklyn Morrison also chipped in for Minot State, putting together one hit in four trips to the plate while adding a double and an RBI. The Beavers were trailing 1-0 in the first inning when they first put runs on the board. Minot State scored twice in the inning on back-to-back run-scoring doubles from Kellogg and Morrison. The Beavers were unable to hold the lead, as Augustana scored three times over the remaining six innings to grab the 4-2 win.
 
GAME 2 | Minot State 4, Augusta 3
 
The Minot State Beavers rallied to score one in the seventh inning and walked it off with sophomore Abby Lohse at the plate to pick up the 4-3 victory over the Augustana Vikings on Friday. Freshman Calley Olson (7-1) got the win out of the bullpen for Minot State. The right-hander went two shutout innings, giving up one hit, two walks and striking out one. Freshman Sara Van Wickler led the way offensively for the Beavers, going 1-for-3 in the ballgame with two RBI. Sophomore Abbey Kelley furnished a noteworthy effort as well, going 2-for-3 with a walk. Junior Lexi Barduson also helped out, going 1-for-2 for Minot State with a double and a walk. Trailing 3-0, the Beavers first put runs on the board in the sixth inning. Minot State scored three runs in the frame, highlighted by a two-run single off the bat of Van Wickler. The game remained tied until the bottom of the seventh, when Minot State walked it off when freshman Taylor Smith came across to score on Lohse’s bases loaded sacrifice fly to center.
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MINOT STATE BASEBALL
 
FAYETTE, Iowa (MSU) – Javier Gutierrez’s two-run home run capped a four-run rally and provided the margin of difference for Minot State, which held on for a 9-7 win over host Upper Iowa to open an NSIC baseball doubleheader on Friday. The host Peacocks took the nightcap 10-7. Minot State (17-10 overall, 8-7 NSIC) wraps up the three-game series at Upper Iowa at noon today with a single game.
 
GAME 1 | Minot State 9, Upper Iowa 7
 
The Minot State Beavers took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and never surrendered the advantage on the way to a 9-7 win against the Upper Iowa Peacocks on Friday. Senior Dominick Parkhurst (4-0) started on the mound and picked up the win for Minot State. The right-hander went six innings, giving up one run on two hits, allowing no walks and striking out six. At the plate, the Beavers were paced by junior Javier Gutierrez, who went 2-for-3 on the day with a triple, a home run and two RBI. Junior Mark Ossanna put together a noteworthy performance at the plate as well, going 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. Senior Matt Malone also contributed for Minot State, putting together two hits in three trips to the plate while adding a double, a walk and two RBI.
 
The Beavers got the scoring started early, putting one run on the board in the top of the first inning. Minot State got on the board thanks to Malone’s RBI double with one out. After the Peacocks rallied to tie the ballgame at one, the Beavers came back to retake the lead in the second inning. Minot State scored once on an RBI single off the bat of junior Shane Kary, which brought the score to 2-1 in favor of the Beavers. Minot State held Upper Iowa scoreless before building their lead to 5-1 the following inning. The Beavers picked up three runs in the frame, two of them coming across on a two-run homer from Ossanna. Minot State held the Peacocks scoreless before expanding their lead in the fifth inning. The Beavers scored four runs in the inning, highlighted by a two-run home run off the bat of Gutierrez, bringing the score to 9-1 in favor of Minot State. Upper Iowa put six runs on the scoreboard before the game was over, but the Beavers still held on for the 9-7 win.
 
GAME 2 | Upper Iowa 10, Minot State 7
 
Junior Gunnar Kozlowitz and senior Derek Kay each hit two home runs but the Minot State Beavers fell to the Upper Iowa Peacocks 10-7 on Friday. Junior Gage Yost (2-1) started and took the loss on the mound for Minot State. Senior Garrett Nicholson was a bright spot out of the bullpen, going one shutout inning without allowing a hit, walking none and striking out two. Kay added three RBI to his two homer day and Kozlowitz supplemented his own two big flies with three RBI for the Beavers. Sophomore Dalin Ludlow also chipped in for Minot State, putting together one hit in three trips to the plate while adding an RBI.
 
The Beavers got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with one run in the top of the first inning. Kay put Minot State on the board with a one-out solo home run off junior Keaton Parker. The Peacocks then rallied to score nine runs and take a 9-1 lead before the Beavers got back on the board in the sixth. Minot State hit two home runs in the inning on the way to pushing four runs across. which brought the score to 9-5 in favor of the Peacocks. Minot State held the Peacocks off the scoreboard before narrowing the gap to 9-6 in the seventh. The Beavers scored once on an RBI single off the bat of Ludlow. The Peacocks expanded their lead to 10-6 before the Minot State offense got back in action, cutting into that lead in the eighth. The Beavers picked up a run on Kozlowitz’s one-out solo home run off senior Sam Marhefke, tightening the Upper Iowa lead to 10-7. The Beavers were unable to get any closer, as neither team scored again in the ballgame.
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MINOT STATE TRACK & FIELD
 
VERMILLION, S.D. (MSU) – Chase Snyder crushed his own school record while Sidra Sadowsky did the same to her own best time in the 800 meters and was fractions of a second away from another record as the Minot State track and field teams started the weekend strong at the University of South Dakota Early Bird Open. The Beavers continue competing at the meet today.
 
Snyder, who one week earlier opened the outdoor track and field season with a record effort in the men’s shot put, shattered that performance by more than three feet on Friday as he finished ninth overall with a throw of 53 feet, 9 inches. A new NCAA Division II school record, Snyder also now ranks No. 2 in the shot put in the NSIC with his new top mark.
 
Just .03 seconds away from setting another NCAA D-II era top mark was Sadowsky who was 11th in the women’s 800 meters in 2 minutes, 18.75 seconds, a personal-best by nearly two seconds for the sophomore middle-distance runner who moved to No. 5 in the NSIC in the event. Sadowsky’s time was just .03 seconds off the record set by Erica Clark of 2:18.72 in 2015.
 
Adding a career-best in the men’s 400-meter hurdles was Nathan Trujillo-Aragon who was fifth overall in the event in 55.66 on Friday, which currently ranks as the No. 1 time in the NSIC this spring. And Jacob Jensen added a seventh-place finish in the men’s 1,500 meters in 3:59.33 on the day for Minot State, which ranks him sixth currently in the NSIC in that event.
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TWINS-ASTROS
 
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – The Minnesota Twins got a career day from Sonny Gray on the mound,, and celebrated Friday’s 2023 home opener at Target Field with a walk-off victory over the Houston Astros. Gray set a career-high with 13 strikeouts and allowed just one run over seven innings, and the Twins got their two biggest hits of the day in the 10th inning to earn a 3-2 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 38,465 fans. It’s the most strikeouts a Twins’ starter has had in a game since Francisco Liriano struck out 15 against the Oakland A’s in July of 2012.
 
The Twins scattered 11 hits and had scoring chances in three straight innings, but until the 10th inning, the only run they scored came from Donovan Solano getting home on a wild pitch in the sixth to tie the game 1-1. With a runner at second to start the 10th inning, Mauricio Dubon singled to left to give the Astros a 2-1 lead. The Twins had the answer in the bottom half, despite Carlos Correa taking a called third strike with Byron Buxton at second. Buxton scored on Jose Miranda’s single to right. The Twins got the walk-off winner on a single up the middle from Kyle Farmer, scoring Trevor Larnach. Miranda’s hit broke an 0-for-9 skid for the Twins with runners in scoring position. The Twins are 5-2, and face the Astros today at Target Field. Joe Ryan (1-0, 1.50 ERA) will start for Minnesota against Luis Garcia (0-1, 5.40 ERA) for Houston.
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THE MASTERS
 
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Brooks Koepka is a force in the majors again. He played bogey-free in the Masters for a 67 and leads by four shots over players who finished before storms arrived. The wind toppled three pine trees near the 17th tee where spectators were standing. Augusta National says no one was hurt. Koepka leads by four over U.S. Amateur champion Sam Bennett. The Texas A&M senior had a 68 and posted the lowest 36-hole score by an amateur at the Masters since 1956. Jon Rahm was three behind with nine holes to play. Tiger Woods is hovering around the cut line. Fargo-native Tom Hoge shot a +2 in the second round for a two round total of +4. He will most likely miss the cut which is projected at +2.
 
 
 

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