KHRT SPORTS – THURSDAY – 04/11/24
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – Noah Madas led the way hitting a home run for the Beavers in each game of their doubleheader against visiting Minnesota Crookston, but it wasn’t enough for Minot State which dropped both games of an NSIC twinbill on Wednesday. The Beavers (9-22 overall, 6-15 NSIC) made their home debut after 29 games on the road to start the season but couldn’t come up with a win, falling 9-5 and 16-15 to the Golden Eagles (19-11, 13-7) in the doubleheader at Corbett Field. Minot State is back in action, on the road once again, playing a doubleheader at Sioux Falls on Saturday and a single game against the Cougars on Sunday.
GAME 1 | Minnesota Crookston 9, Minot State 5
An outstanding offensive output was not enough for Minot State on Wednesday. The Beavers plated five runs but could not hold the Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles at bay and were bested 9-5. Junior Gage Eastlick (1-3) got the ball to start for Minot State and took the loss. Sophomore Jack Bright was a bright spot for the Beavers, coming out of the bullpen and throwing 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing no hits, with two walks and one strikeout. At the plate, the Beavers were paced by senior Mark Ossanna, who went 1-for-3 on the day with a home run and three RBI. Sophomore Noah Madas put together a standout performance at the dish as well, going 2-for-3 with a home run and an RBI. Junior Brian Parry also contributed for Minot State, putting together two hits in three trips to the plate while adding a walk and an RBI.
Trailing 5-0, the Beavers first put runs on the board in the third inning. Minot State got an RBI single from Parry, scoring Madas from second base. The Beavers deficit grew to 9-1 before their offense got back on the scoreboard, cutting into that deficit in the sixth inning. Minot State scored three runs, all of them coming on a three-run homer off the bat of Ossanna, scoring Parry and senior Ricky Apodaca, which tightened the Golden Eagles lead to 9-4. Minot State kept the Golden Eagles off the board before narrowing the gap to 9-5 in the seventh. The Beavers picked up a run on Madas’ leadoff home run off Isaac Roers. The Beavers were unable to get any closer, as neither team scored again in the ballgame.
GAME 2 | Minnesota Crookston 16, Minot State 15
The Minot State Beavers took a 12-10 lead into the eighth inning but could not hang on and fell 16-15 to the Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles Wednesday. Junior Gage Yost (1-6) came out of the bullpen for Minot State and took the loss. Senior Noah Balandran was a bright spot for the Beavers, coming out of the bullpen as well and throwing 1.2 scoreless innings, allowing no hits, with no walks and one strikeout. At the plate, the Beavers were led by sophomore Noah Madas, who went 2-for-4 on the day with a home run, a walk and three RBI. Senior Ricky Apodaca put together a standout performance at the dish as well, going 1-for-5 with a home run and four RBI. Junior Brent Riddle also contributed for Minot State, putting together four hits in five trips to the plate while adding two doubles and two RBI. The Beavers lost despite scoring in six different innings in the ballgame, last holding the lead in the eighth inning at 12-11. Minot State’s biggest output came in its four-run fifth inning. The big hit for the Beavers in the inning was a two-run home run off the bat of Madas.
—————————————————
MINOT STATE SOFTBALL
ABERDEEN, S.D. (MSU) – Minot State senior Gabi Dawyduk provided the game-winning hit in the opener then led the way in the circle in the nightcap as the Beavers swept an NSIC doubleheader from host Northern State on Wednesday. Dawyduk’s two-run double in the top of the 8th inning gave Minot State (15-11 overall, 10-4 NSIC) a 3-1 win to start the day, then Dawyduk pitched six strong innings in a 10-6 win to wrap up the sweep. Minot State now returns home to host NSIC leader Concordia, St. Paul on Saturday in a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. at the SCHEELS Complex at South Hill, then hosts Winona State in another twinbill starting at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
GAME 1 | Minot State 3, Northern State 1
The Minot State Beavers needed eight innings to get the job done but pulled off the 3-1 extra-innings victory over the Northern State Wolves Wednesday. Junior Reegan Floyd (5-4) started in the circle and picked up the win for Minot State. The right-hander went eight innings, giving up one run on eight hits, allowing no walks and striking out four. Trailing 1-0, the Beavers first put runs on the board in the seventh inning. Minot State got an RBI single from junior Hannah Murray, scoring senior Gabi Dawyduk from second base. The game remained tied until the very next inning when the Beavers got going again on offense. Minot State pushed two runs across on a two-run double off the bat of Dawyduk that brought home senior Brooklyn Morrison and junior Abby Lohse, which brought the Beavers lead to 3-1. The score remained 3-1 for the rest of the game, as Minot State held on for the win.
GAME 2 | Minot State 10, Northern State 6
Minot State got contributions from every part of their lineup as all nine starters reached base safely helping the Beavers put 10 runs on the board and defeat the Northern State Wolves 10-6 Wednesday. Senior Gabi Dawyduk (5-5) got the win for Minot State. The right-hander went six innings, giving up three runs, zero earned, on six hits. The Beavers got the scoring started early, putting runs on the board in the top of the first inning as Paige Kellogg and Dawyduk each had an RBI in a three-run rally. The Wolves failed to push any runs across before the Beavers built on their lead in the third inning. Minot State scored once on an RBI single off the bat of junior Hannah Murray, which brought the Beavers lead to 4-0. Northern State narrowed Minot State’s lead to 4-2 before the Beavers stretched the advantage to 8-2 in the sixth inning. The Beavers bats heated up in the inning, scoring four runs, including a one-run single off the bat of senior Lauryn DeGuzman. The Wolves fought back, closing the gap to 8-3 until Minot State added some insurance in the seventh. The Beavers notched two runs off of Northern State pitching, punctuated by a run-scoring double off the bat of sophomore Anna LaCount, bringing the score to 10-3 in favor of Minot State. Northern State put three runs on the scoreboard before the game was over, but the Beavers still coasted to the 10-6 win.
——————————————————
TWINS-DODGERS
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Edouard Julien homered twice and scored three runs for the Minnesota Twins to spark a lagging lineup and lead a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday. Julien, who entered the afternoon in a 3-for-28 start to the season, led off the first and fifth innings with opposite field drives into the bleachers in left for his first career multi-homer game. Alex Vesia (0-1) relieved starter Bobby Miller to start the fifth and took the loss after Julien’s first major league home run — his career total is 18 — against a left-hander. Ending an 0-for-33 team-wide skid with runners in scoring position was just as encouraging for the Twins, who have an MLB-worst .184 batting average. Byron Buxton delivered the streak-stopping RBI single in the third after Julien, the second-year second baseman, started the inning with a single. The Twins RHP Pablo López (1-1, 2.84 ERA) pitches this afternoon to begin a four-game series at Detroit. LHP Tarik Skubal (1-0, 2.92 ERA) starts for the Tigers.
——————————————————
TIMBERWOLVES-NUGGETS
DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic minimized the matchup between teams tied atop the Western Conference standings, then put on a show for the ages — and for anyone still doubting he’s the best player on the planet. The odds-on favorite to win a third MVP trophy, Jokic registered his 20th career 40-point game in powering the Denver Nuggets past the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-107 on Wednesday night. Scoring 41 points to go with 11 rebounds and seven assists, Jokic made 16 of 20 shots against the NBA’s best defense while being guarded most of the night by the league’s top defender, Rudy Gobert, along with Naz Reid. Jamal Murray added 20 points in 27 minutes and Michael Porter Jr. scored 18 for the Nuggets, who pulled away by holding Anthony Edwards without a bucket in the fourth quarter. Edwards led Minnesota with 25 points but was a non-factor in the fourth as Denver’s reserves put on a show featuring Peyton Watson’s six blocks and Christian Braun’s rim-rattling dunks. The Timberwolves host the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.