We've entered draft month
With it came a special edition of the Mock-A-Thon!
But beyond that it was a quiet week for the Purple.
NDSU started the week on Thursday with ⚽️ in Vermillion but they ended down 3-0.
As has been the norm, track & field acted as the loss-stoppers with the Spring Classic on campus. Both the men & the women were on point!
Unfortunately ⚾️ & Softball weren't quite as able to be sharp. The latter went down 3-6 & 1-2 in Kansas City while the men split in Omaha, 15-4 & 8-2. Tucker Rohde & Charley Hesse accounted for four of the eight runs in the win. In a reversal of fortune on Saturday, NDSU doubled up on KC, 6-3 & 4-2. In both games they were behind early but as a possible sign of progress put together enough good at-bats to leave Missouri even. 10 wins below .500, they open at home on the 10th and will play their next 15 games there.
As for the white ball, they got dropped 7-0 while the ladies of the pitch were also shutout again, 3-0. But as the women did, so managed the men. They fell behind by way of a first inning home run but then nailed three long-balls to leave Nebraska with an even split, 10-4. With an already healthy 18-8 record they will also be home for the next two weeks against Western Illinois & ORU.
If the teams can trend like the weather than both Newman & Tharaldson will be hopping!
Moorhead State was also involved in the NDSU Classic and the Dragons held their own!
Down in Winona Softball took their shot at the #15 ranked university in the country but were dispatched 20-3 & 14-0, both ending in five innings. They were back on the diamond in Fayette, Iowa and managed a split against Upper, 12-4 (L) & 5-4 (W). In the win Sheyenne's Shay Weber managed four hits and scored two of the runs.
Talk about a short week!
The Cornies had a two-game-day week after a Wednesday ⚾️ game against Valley City was cancelled. They made up for that at Hamline with a 9-0 smashing. Matt Gruber finished with five of the 16 total hits & three runs scored. The teams rematched twice on Saturday, finishing as a 4-1 loss by the Cobbers and a 9-3 win. Only Sean McGuire managed more than two hits while Andy Gravdahl & Thomas Horan each crossed home twice.
Softball wrapped the week with a home doubleheader on Saturday against St. Benedict but lost each, 2-0 & 13-3.
The latest attempt to end the playoff-winless-streak commenced on Thursday. The 9th inning collapse that lead to a 10th inning loss was a disheartening start. Well, as disheartening as the first of a possible 162 could be.
They got back on the field in Milwaukee yesterday and got an ace-level outing from Jose Berrios. With un-hittable command he spun six innings of nearly perfect pitching. Of Taylor Rogers, Tyler Duffey & Alex Colome only Duffey allowed a hit. It took every bit of the pitching prowess as Buxton & Andrelton Simmons were the lone run scorers.
The series-deciding Sunday afternoon showdown was a complete effort. The bats put Minnesota ahead right away and the Crew could only tie it but never lead. A four-run sixth inning was the deciding factor in the 8-2 win. The most impressive part is that they did it without Buxton & Cruz for most of the game & Josh Donaldson for the whole thing after his game 1 hamstring tweak.
It still may be premature to say his signing was a mistake but I wouldn't blame anyone for pondering the idea. A guy can have all the talent in the world but if he can't remaining available to play it's insignificant. Donaldson is proving to fit that characterization.
A home-pair against Omaha had been characterized as potentially season-defining. Tri-City on a tear that proved to be the case. When the time had run out, Fargo had dropped each, 4-0 & 4-3. They're now two points behind T-C despite playing four more games. With only six games left over the next three weekends it's not a foregone conclusion that they'll finish below the top spot but they'll need to get off the seven-game schneid that they've been on with only one win during that span. The 15th & 16th at home against woebegone Waterloo could be the determining set of games as to where they finish the regular season in the standing.