Minot State sneaks out sweep over Bemidji State baseball, 8-6 and 4-3

Bemidji State University baseball came up short Wednesday during a sweep to Minot State University, taking losses of 8-6 and 4-3, at BSU Baseball Field in Bemidji, Minn. Junior Sam Kalberer extended his on-base streak to 27 games, the longest for the program since at least the 2007 season, as the Beavers fall to 7-30 overall and 6-26 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

Game One – L, 9-8
Back-to-back walks to start the home half of the first inning set up the game’s first run as freshman Carter Simon was brought home on a ground out RBI by senior Isaiah Grancorvitz. After taking a 1-0 lead to enter the second inning, Bemidji State gave up three runs to Minot State on two hits and one error to trail, 3-1.

Bemidji State put up runs in each of the next two innings to retake the lead, 4-3. Junior Parker Borg knocked out his second home run of the season, and second in the last two games, to drive in two runs in the bottom of the third inning before sophomore Michael O’Malley hit an RBI double to center field to drive in the go-ahead run, sophomore Tom Keohen who reached on a double, from second base in the fourth.

Minot State grabbed its second lead of the day after the top of the fifth inning as it scored five runs on four hits and one Bemidji State error. MiSU recorded three straight two-out RBI singles while another two runs came in on a wild pitch for an 8-4 lead.

BSU loaded the bases with no outs on two hits and a walk in the bottom of the fifth inning. Keohen put an RBI single just past the shortstop through the left side for Bemidji State’s only run in the inning to trail, 8-5. Borg came through with his third RBI of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, driving in Simon to bring BSU within two runs, 8-6.

Bemidji State left the bases loaded to end both the fifth and sixth innings, and was retired in order to finish the game in the bottom of the seventh.

Junior Sam Kalberer extended his on-base streak to 26 games after a first-inning walk. He finished the day 3-of-3 from the plate with two runs scored while Borg also tallied three hits with three RBI and one run scored on his home run. Senior pitcher Travis Carruth threw the final 2.0 innings for BSU with two strikeouts and no hits or walks allowed. Starting pitcher Will Lavin (0-7) took the loss after going 4.2 innings with four earned runs allowed on six hits and six walks with five strikeouts.

Both teams left nine runners stranded on base, including six for BSU over the final three innings. Bemidji State hit .333 with runners on base, compared to .368 for Minot State, including going 1-of-5 with the bases loaded.

Game Two – L, 4-3
Minot State jumped ahead first in game two with a three-run second inning. MiSU recorded three two-out hits, including a triple and back-to-back RBI singles to exit the top half with a 3-0 advantage. BSU came back in the bottom of the second inning with two hits for two runs, including an RBI ground out by sophomore Derek Dolezal and an RBI single by freshman Brooks Bachmann.

Following a 4-2 deficit heading out of the top of the third inning, BSU struggled to get runners into scoring position through the seventh inning. Of Bemidji State’s three runners left on base from the third to seventh innings, only one reached second base. Grancorvitz brought BSU to within one of MiSU on a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning for the team’s first extra-base hit of the game. His third home run of the season cut MiSU’s lead to 4-3 heading into the ninth inning.

Bemidji State’s rally hopes were shut down in the bottom of the ninth after all three batters were retired in order.

Other than the second inning, the BSU pitching staff allowed just one earned run in eight innings. Relief pitchers Kenny Morris and Carruth combined to throw 5.0 innings of scoreless ball with four hits allowed and three strikeouts combined. Borg (0-4) started on the mound and took the loss after throwing 4.0 innings with three earned runs allowed on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts.

Bemidji State ends its regular season with a three-game series May 7-8 in Bemidji against the University of Minnesota Duluth.