BEMIDJI, Minn. (BSU Baseball Field) - Game 1 got off to a slow start with a 15 minute weather delay but Bemidji State and Northern State would eventually take the field. The first two innings took over an hour to play with another 20 minute weather delay, but the skies would clear up just long enough to squeeze in two games. NSU pulled away from BSU winning 7-1, fighting off BSU and the weather in game 1 but Bemidji State would fight back behind a solid pitching performance and some defensive breaks to take game 2, 5-2, in five innings.

After the first delay, NSU took an early 2-0 lead when play was delayed. When action resumed the Wolves added another run in the second inning before a brief five-minute delay in the third.
The two teams went scoreless through the third and fourth innings before NSU drove in two more runs in the fifth.

BSU would eventually tally a run in the sixth inning after Matt Asche (Durango, Iowa) reached on a fielding error by NSU’s Valdie Magstadt. Asche crossed the plate from third three batters later when Matt Middendorf singled up the middle.

The run was Bemidji State’s only mark of game 1 in which Eddie Johnson (Bemidji, Minn.) took the loss. Johnson pitched 5.0 innings allowing five runs on six hits while striking out seven of the 24 batters he faced.

Battling windy conditions in game two, Bryant Salamone (Rockford, Ill.) collected the complete-game win after just 5.0 innings of work when the game was called due to the weather. In his 5.0 innings of work Salamone allowed just two runs on five hits with four strike outs.

The Beavers struck first in game 2 after two consecutive wild pitches by Rhett Gunderson plated Eric Pilgrim (Park Rapids, Minn.). Tony Klaers (Elk River, Minn.) also crossed the plate in the first inning after a sacrifice fly by John Grindeland (Moorhead, Minn.).

In the top of the second, after walking a batter, Salamone got some defensive help on a ball hit hard to the shortstop. The ball took a bad bounce and hit Matt Middendorf (Sauk Centre, Minn.) on his shoulder but bounced off into the glove of Grindeland who stepped on second base and tossed it over to first to end the inning.

But Northern State would not give up. The Wolves scored one run in the third after a single and three consecutive batters were hit by pitches. NSU evened things up in the top of the fourth on a solo home run by Ben Cupp but the BSU offense was too strong in game 2 as the Beavers pulled away with three runs in the bottom of the fourth before the game was called after a scoreless fifth inning. All three runs crossed home on a double to deep center by Asche.

With the split, BSU moves to 10-33 (8-10 NSIC) on the season while Northern State moves to 17-22 (6-12 NSIC).

Bemidji State and Northern State will face off again tomorrow afternoon in another doulbe-header. Game 1 is slated to get underway at 12:00 p.m. with the first pitch of game 2 to be 20 minutes after the completion of game 1.

--bsu--