The NMHU Cowboys continued their NCAA Central Regional Tournament run on 5/18 with a 5-4 decision over the nationally ranked #8 St. Cloud State Huskies.
Both powerhouse programs dug in for battle immediately as neither team would score in the first two innings. Both pitchers held strong for their clubs,
Chris Prokupek got the start on the mound for the Pokes.
St. Cloud struck first with a two run homerun off Prokupek in the third inning to take a 2-0 lead. The Huskies would add another run in the third to extend their lead 3-0.
The Pokes answered back in the bottom of the fourth as
Matt Gualco scored on a St. Cloud balk to chip into the Huskies lead 3-1.
Both teams were scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings. The Huskies went scoreless in the seventh inning, but the Pokes had different plans as they would score two in the bottom of the seventh inning and
Jordan Falcon and
Jordan Chavez crossed the plate to tie the score at 3-3.
In the top of the eighth inning with no outs and with Husky runners on second and third,
Richard Sandoval came in for Prokupek and got the Pokes out of a jam with a masterful performance. Sandoval struck out the first two batters he faced then forced a ground out by the third batter to keep the score 3-3.
In the Cowboys half of the eighth inning, the Cowboys bats came alive at the right time as
Erik Scott came up to pinch hitter with two outs and the bases loaded to hit a first pitch single up the middle, scoring
Luis Saenz and
Kyle Davis to put the Cowboys out in front of their nationally ranked opponent 5-3.
In the top of the ninth inning, Cowboy closer
Oscar Almeida would come in for Sandoval. Almeida would retire the first two Husky batters in order to start the inning. With two outs, St. Cloud would mount a comeback getting runners at the corners, but would fall short as Almeida struck out their final batter of the evening to carry the Cowboys over the Huskies 5-4 to advance in regional play.
With the win the Cowboys are now 41-14 on the season. With their 41st win, the 2012 Cowboys have now tied the 2001 and 2010 NMHU Baseball squads for the school record for wins with 41 on the season.
The Cowboys will have a chance to set themselves apart on 5/19 when they take on the #1 seeded Mavericks of Minnesota State at 12:00 p.m. CST in Mankato, Minn.
Chris Prokupek got the start on the mound for the Cowboys. Prokupek allowed three runs on nine hits and struck out two batters in seven innings pitched.
Richard Sandoval (3-0) got the win on the hill for the Pokes with a masterful one inning performance holding the Huskies hitless and scoreless while striking out two batters in three batters faced.
Oscar Almeida earned his 14th save of the season coming in for Sandoval and allowing one run on two hits while striking out two St. Cloud batters in one inning pitched.
Luis Saenz,
Erik Scott and
Matt Gualco led the way offensively for the Pokes. Saenz finished the night 3-4 with one run scored. Erick Scott finished 1-1 on the night with the biggest hit of the night for the Pokes. On his one hit, Scott drove in two RBI's to put the Cowboys in the lead for good over the Huskies.
Matt Gualco rounds out the top three batters finishing the game 1-3 with one run scored.
The Cowboys will take the field again on 5/19 as they take on the Mavericks of Minnesota State University at 12:00 p.m. CST. NMHU and MSU are the only unbeaten teams remaining in the tournament.
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GO COWBOYS!!!
