By: NSU Sports Information

St. Cloud, Minn. – The Northern State University baseball team opened the NSIC Tournament on Thursday versus Augustana University, falling 8-4 in the game. The Wolves bounced back for an 8-6 victory over Minnesota Crookston in the elimination side of the bracket. NSU finishes the day 22-23 overall and well face the loser of the 10 a.m. Minnesota Duluth vs. Concordia-St. Paul match-up.
 
Game 1 – Augustana
 
The Vikings jumped out to a 4-0 lead through the first three innings, however Northern fought back in the fourth. Jack Schmidt tallied the team's first run of the game, scoring on a Lucas Lorenz single. Matt Stubbs, who reached on an error, and Ben Allen, who reached on a fielder's choice, also scored in the inning, while Preston Brown notched an RBI. Augustana however quickly answered with a run of their own in the fourth and added three more in the final innings of the game.
 
Brown led the team going 4-for-2 with an RBI, followed by Matt Stubbs who went 1-for-3 with a homerun to left in the top of the eighth inning. Jack Schmidt, Lucas Lorenz, Easton Lopez, and Jake Samuelson combined for the Wolves final four hits in the game.
 
Nick Hoffard suffered the loss for the Wolves, giving up seven earned runs on 12 hits. Nate Zeise entered to throw two complete scoreless innings. Zeise gave up just one hit and struck out two in the outing.
 
Game 2 – Minnesota Crookston
 
Tensions were high in the second game of the day, as the Wolves and Golden Eagles both vied for a spot in the second day of the NSIC Tournament. The two teams battled back and forth throughout the game, with the Wolves holding on to the lead in eight of the nine innings of play. UMC tied thins up in the bottom of the second, after Jack Schmidt score on a Ben Allen single to right in the first.
 
Lucas Lorenz had a monster game for the Wolves at the plate going 4-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. Lorenz blasted a "no-doubter" homerun to right center field in the top of the sixth, scoring Schmidt and lengthening the NSU lead to 7-3. The sophomore also notched a triple and was hit by a pitch. Jack Schmidt was second on the team going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a walk.
 
Rounding out the team total were Ben Allen, Mikey Barreneche, Preston Brown, Kolin Kubitz, and Easton Lopez with a hit apiece. Kubitz tallied a double, while Brown smashed his own homerun in the top of the seventh.
 
Colton Boucher started on the hill for the Wolves throwing 5.1 innings and earning his sixth win of the season. The senior gave up five earned runs on three hits and tallied four strikeouts. Dillon Lee and Marcus Manderbach entered to throw the middle innings for NSU. Lee gave up one earned run and two hits, while Manderbach held the Golden Eagles scoreless through two innings with three strikeouts. Luke Chevalier earned his fourth save of the season closing out the bottom of the ninth. Chevalier notched one strikeout in the inning as well.
 
The Wolves will open the second day of the NSIC Tournament tomorrow at 1 p.m. from Dick Putz Field. Both live stats and live video will be available for the contest, where the Wolves will play either the Golden Bears or Bulldogs.