SANFORD, FLORIDA (NSUWolves.com) [Day 1 vs. UMD] – Wolves baseball went head-to-head with the UMD Bulldogs in a conference double-header Saturday. Northern swept Duluth with two comeback wins.

THE QUICK DETAILS
Game One: NSU 5, UMD 1
Game Two: NSU 11, UMD 10
Records: NSU 5-8 (NSIC 3-5), UMD 3-16 (NSIC 2-6)

GAME ONE: NSU 5, UMD 1

• The first game of the double-header went to the Wolves in comeback fashion
• Carson Zimmel pitched 6.2 innings, only giving up one run on five hits against 31 faced batters; Zimmel was credited with the game’s win
• Minnesota Duluth went up 1-0 in the bottom of the first
• It wasn’t until the top of the sixth when the next runs of the game were scored, all by Northern State
• Dillon Castillanos kicked off the sixth inning with a double to center; he advanced to third on the next play, a single from Drew Benson
• An Andrew Niaves walk loaded the bases, setting up Castillanos and Kyle Konechne (pinch running for Benson) to score on a Collin Lott single; Wolves go up 2-1
• Jake Weidner had the only home run of the game, batting in Niaves and Lott to push NSU’s lead to 5-1

NORTHERN STATE STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
Carson Zimmel: 6.2 IP, 5 hits, 1 run
Collin Lott: 2-3, 1 run, 2 RBI
Dillon Castellanos: 2-4, 1 run, double

GAME TWO: NSU 11, UMD 10

• The Wolves got on the board first with a Dalton Kesti score; he was batted in on a Drew Benson hit
• Dylan Soulek added to the lead, touching home due to a Casey Vining single
• UMD scored the next 10 runs of the game; four in the bottom of the second and six in the fourth
• Andrew Niaves scored in the fifth to cut the lead to 10-3 Duluth
• Three Northern runners came home in the top of the sixth; Mateo Tahsini in on a Dillon Castellanos double, Castellanos in on a Soulek single, and Soulek in on a Benson single
• An excess of walks and wild pitches in the seventh brought three Wolves home, bringing the score to 10-9 Bulldogs
• A three-and-out in the bottom of the seventh got the Wolves back to their offense where they scored two in the eighth
• Jack Weidner touched home plate to tie the game off a Tahsini single
• Castellanos scored on a wild pitch to complete the Wolves’ comeback and solidify the 11-10 NSU win; no runs were scored the rest of the game

NORTHERN STATE STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
Mateo Tahsini: 3-4, 2 runs, 1 RBI
Dillon Castellanos: 2-4, 3 runs, 1 RBI, SB
Dalton Kesti: 2-3, 2 runs, 2 SB

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SANFORD, FLORIDA (NSUWolves.com) [Day 2 vs. UMD] – NSU baseball finished their 3-game conference series against Minnesota Duluth today, March 15. The Wolves took a commanding lead early and held off a Bulldog comeback attempt late.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The game started with three errors by the Bulldogs which brought Dillon Castellanos home to get the Wolves up 1-0
• Hyunwoo Kim pitched a three-and-out to end the first inning
• NSU piles on six runs in the top of the second to extend their lead to 7-0
• Duluth got on the board with four runs in the third thanks to a couple of fielding errors by Northern
• Two runs were added in the fifth to extend the Wolves’ lead to 9-4; Jack Weidner and Mateo Tahsini reached base on a HBP and a walk respectively, they both scored on a two-out Castillo single
• UMD responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning, 9-5 NSU
• The sixth inning saw each team bring a run in, pushing the score to 10-6 Northern
• The Bulldogs put up two runs in the bottom of the eighth to cut the Wolves’ lead to 10-8 entering the nineth
• After adding three runs in the top of the nineth to extend their lead to 13-8, pitcher Lance Behrens retired three of the four faced batters to end the game

NORTHERN STATE STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
Dalton Kesti: 3-6, 2 runs, 2 RBI, 2 doubles
Andrew Niaves: 2-5, 2 RBI, 1 run, 2 doubles
Mateo Tahsini: 1-4, 2 runs, 2 RBI
Dillon Castellanos: 1-5, 2 runs, 2 RBI

UP NEXT
Northern State baseball is back in action tomorrow, March 16 for their last game of the RussMatt Invitational. The Wolves will face No. 10 Rollins College at 2 p.m. CST in Winter Park, Florida.