K-HEART SPORTS – 04/10/23 – 0700
MINOT, ND (MINOTAUROS) – The Minotauros came into the weekend in control of their playoff destiny following a clean sweep of the Aberdeen Wings last weekend. Hosting the Austin Bruins for the final home series of the regular season, Minot didn’t disappoint their fans by picking up two wins against the Bruins.
On Friday night, the Tauros braved a challenging first period, aided by their netminder Noah Rupprecht, who stopped 11 Austin shots in the opening frame. Despite the intense back-and-forth action, neither team managed to score a goal before heading into the first intermission. Minot struck first when Trevor Stachowiak recorded his 14th goal of the season, giving the Tauros a 1-0 lead with 13:37 left in the second period. Kolby Amici and Jan- Kasper Bergman added the assists. Austin would counter at 19:04 when defenseman Matthew Desiderio netted his fifth marker of the campaign making it 1-1. Austin jumped ahead 2-1 as Bruins Gavin Morrissey slid one past Rupprecht with 11:31 left in regulation. Tauros Weston Knox, just over two minutes later, grabbed his sixth marker on a beautiful move to beat Austin goalie Trent Wiemken. Stachowiak and Braden Fischer provided the helpers. No other goals would be scored in regulation or overtime, and the outcome had to be decided in a shootout. Austin could not solve Rupprecht in the shootout, while Tauros Chase LaPinta scored on a nifty move to clinch Minot’s 3-2 victory.
Saturday was another hard-fought affair, with zero goals being scored until the 14:36 mark of the second period. Then, Defenseman Nick O’Hanisian sniped just below the circles after a great dish from Colby Joseph coming out of the corner to take a 1-0 lead. Colby Woogk logged the secondary assist. The Bruins could not connect on several opportunities in the third. However, Tauros Hunter Longhi and Colby Woogk added insurance markers to help Rupprecht pickup a 3-0 shutout and a Tauro’s series sweep.
Next up for the Tauros is a weekend road trip to Austin for the final games of the regular season on Friday and Saturday nights.
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MINOT STATE TRACK & FIELD
VERMILLION, S.D. (MSU) – Leif Nelson now is the greatest javelin thrower in the history of Minot State track and field. One week after the NCAA All-American broke his own NCAA Division II school record, he shattered that and added the all-time school record in the javelin to his season accomplishments with a victorious effort in the event at the University of South Dakota’s Early Bird Open. Nelson turned in a throw of 237 feet, 1.75 inches to win the meet, break his own D-II record of 222-7 from one week earlier, and break the all-time school record of 235-1 set by Minot State Athletic Hall of Famer Ed Boos back in 1982. Also another NCAA national provisional qualifying mark, Nelson improved his standing nationally and now ranks No. 4 in the javelin.
While Nelson’s record-setting performance stole the show, the Beavers also added a few other standout efforts on Saturday as Juan Gutierrez was fifth at the USD Early Bird in the men’s 800 meters in 1 minute, 57.83 seconds, and Jessica Martinez was 12th in the women’s 800 meters in 2:32.20. Two weekends into the outdoor season, the Minot State track and field teams now split up and head to meets across the country this week, competing in the Mt. SAC Relays, the Bryan Clay Invitational, the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate, and the Beach Invitational all in California, and the Jim Duncan Invitational hosted by Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
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MINOT STATE BASEBALL
FAYETTE, Iowa (MSU) – The Minot State Beavers broke through after a 3-3 tie in the sixth inning to defeat the Upper Iowa Peacocks 7-5 on Saturday in the finale of their three-game NSIC series. Minot State (18-10 overall, 9-7 NSIC) is back in action on Wednesday playing an NSIC doubleheader at Wayne State starting at noon. Junior Craig Schmich (3-2) picked up the win for Minot State in relief. The right-hander threw two scoreless innings while allowing two hits, with no walks and two strikeouts. Senior Bryant Bagshaw started and went five innings, giving up three runs, all of them earned, on five hits, allowing four walks and striking out four. Offensively, the Beavers were led by senior Derek Kay, who went 3-for-4 on the day with a double, a walk and an RBI. Junior Brent Riddle compiled a standout performance at the plate as well, going 1-for-1 with a double and three walks. Junior Mark Ossanna also contributed for Minot State, putting together one hit in four trips to the plate while adding a double, a walk and an RBI.
The Beavers were trailing 1-0 in the third inning when they first put runs on the board. Minot State pushed across two runs in the frame, the big blow coming on an RBI double from Ossanna. After the Peacocks rallied to tie the ballgame at two, the Beavers came back to retake the lead in the fourth inning. Junior Shane Kary came across to score the lone run of the inning for Minot State, which brought the score to 3-2 in favor of the Beavers. Upper Iowa clawed back to even the ballgame at three before Minot State reclaimed a 5-3 advantage in the seventh inning. The Beavers scored twice, with one run coming across on junior Gunnar Kozlowitz’s single. Minot State kept the Peacocks scoreless before their offense got things rolling the next inning. The Beavers picked up two runs in the frame, the big hit being an RBI double from Kay, bringing the Minot State advantage to 7-3. Upper Iowa put two runs on the scoreboard before the game was over, but the Beavers still held on for the 7-5 win.
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MINOT STATE SOFTBALL
MINOT, ND (MSU) – The Beavers got a standout performance in the circle from pitcher Gabi Dawyduk for a game-one victory, then made a late charge to complete the sweep of visiting Wayne State in an NSIC doubleheader Saturday at the air-supported dome. Minot State (19-13 overall, 6-4 NSIC) won the opener 4-0 then completed the sweep with a 4-3 victory. The Beavers return to action on Tuesday hosting Northern State in another NSIC doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. in “The Bubble” on the MSU campus.
GAME 1 | Minot State 4, Wayne State (NE) 0
Junior Gabi Dawyduk was dealing on Saturday, hurling a shutout to lead the Minot State Beavers past the Wayne State Wildcats 4-0. Dawyduk (2-0) went the distance for Minot State, giving up eight hits, walking one and striking out four. Senior Leo Watson led the way offensively for the Beavers, going 3-for-3 in the ballgame with a double. Freshman Paige Kellogg furnished a standout performance as well, going 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Sophomore Abbey Kelley also helped out, going 1-for-3 for Minot State with a double, a walk and an RBI. The Beavers took the lead for good in the first, scoring for the first time in the inning. Minot State scored twice, with one run coming across on junior Brooklyn Morrison’s single. The Beavers also added runs in the second and fourth innings on the way to the 4-0 victory.
GAME 2 | Minot State 4, Wayne State (NE) 3
The Minot State Beavers broke through after a 3-3 tie in the fifth inning to defeat the Wayne State Wildcats 4-3 Saturday. Freshman Calley Olson (8-1) got the win out of the bullpen for Minot State. The right-hander went two shutout innings, giving up two hits, no walks and striking out two. Freshman Kierra Fournier started the ballgame and went five innings, surrendering three runs, two earned, on seven hits, walking two and striking out six. Junior Brooklyn Morrison led the way offensively for the Beavers, going 1-for-3 in the ballgame with a double and two RBI. Sophomore Abby Lohse put together a noteworthy effort as well, going 1-for-3 with a triple. Sophomore Chesie McLaughlin also chipped in, going 1-for-2 for Minot State with a walk and an RBI. Trailing 3-0, the Beavers first put runs on the board in the fifth inning. Minot State scored three runs in the frame, highlighted by a two-RBI double from Morrison. The score stayed at 3-3 until the very next inning, when the Beavers put runs on the scoreboard once again. Minot State scored once on an RBI single off the bat of junior Gabi Dawyduk, which brought the score to 4-3 in favor of the Beavers. The score remained 4-3 for the rest of the game, as Minot State held on for the win.
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WOLVES-PELICANS
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards had 26 points, 13 rebounds, four steals and four blocks to lead Minnesota past New Orleans 113-108 on Sunday, passing the Pelicans in the play-in tournament seeding after losing a pair of starters during the game to anger management problems. Rudy Gobert threw a punch at teammate Kyle Anderson late in the second quarter and was sent home for the day, after ace defender Jaden McDaniels hurt his right hand by hitting a wall in frustration. But Karl-Anthony Towns had 12 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, Taurean Prince pitched in 18 points off the bench, and the Timberwolves rallied from a 14-point deficit. Minnesota (42-40) finished in eighth place and will travel to Los Angeles to play the surging seventh-place Lakers (43-39) in the play-in tournament on Tuesday night. The winner gets the No. 7 seed and a first-round matchup against Memphis. New Orleans (42-40) fell to ninth place and will host 10th-place Oklahoma City in an elimination game on Wednesday night. The winner will hit the road to face the Timberwolves-Lakers loser for the No. 8 seed and a first-round date with Denver.
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TWINS-ASTROS
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Chas McCormick had four RBIs, Hunter Brown combined on a two-hitter and the Houston Astros beat the Minnesota Twins 5-1 to salvage the series finale. The World Series champions are 4-6 after winning for just the second time in seven games. Mauricio Dubón had two hits and scored two runs, while Jeremy Peña and Yainer Diaz each had two hits for the Astros, who avoided a three-game sweep. Brown allowed an unearned run and two hits over seven innings with seven strikeouts and two walks. Tyler Mahle (1-1) gave up four runs and eight hits in six innings for the Twins who drop to 6-3 on the year. Donovan Solano had an RBI single in the fourth after Byron Buxton singled and advanced on third baseman Alex Bregman’s throwing error.
UP NEXT
RHP Kenta Maeda (0-1, 1.80) makes his second start of the season this afternoon as the Twins welcome the White Sox to Target Field to start a three-game series. Maeda, who missed the 2022 season after Tommy John surgery, gave up one run and struck out nine in five innings at Miami in his return on April 4.
RHP Kenta Maeda (0-1, 1.80) makes his second start of the season this afternoon as the Twins welcome the White Sox to Target Field to start a three-game series. Maeda, who missed the 2022 season after Tommy John surgery, gave up one run and struck out nine in five innings at Miami in his return on April 4.
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WILD-SIGNING
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Wild signed defenseman Brock Faber to a standard three-year, entry-level contract on Sunday, a day after the Minnesota Gophers lost in the NCAA championship game. Faber was scheduled to travel with the Wild to Chicago for their game against the Blackhawks on Monday. The Wild have three regular-season games remaining, with their playoff spot clinched and the Central Division title still within reach. The 20-year-old Faber had four goals and 23 assists in 38 games for Minnesota this season, his third with the Gophers. The native of Maple Grove, Minnesota, was a two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award winner. The right-shot Faber finished his college career with seven goals and 46 assists in 97 games with a plus-54 rating. Faber was drafted in the second round by the Los Angeles Kings in 2020 and traded to the Wild last summer along with a 2022 first-round draft pick for left wing Kevin Fiala. The Gophers lost in overtime to Quinnipiac for the championship on Saturday.