We headed to Fargo for some Bison baseball. For North Dakota State, they found themselves in the 2nd spot of the Summit League standings, putting them in a great spot for when the Summit league tourney rolls around. That’s what matters in this one, winning that run of games and finding a way to the big dance.
Here, NDSU was playing host to the Omaha Mavericks in a great spot. The Bison had won four straight games, and controlled that same number of conference series in row. NDSU had made a living winning the close ones, and they tried to do so again here vs. the Mavs. Each of the first two games were completely different. In the first, it was Omaha getting out on the right foot early. Sam Palensky reached base right away for the Mavs, and was sac’ed over. So the Mavs had a gyt in scoring position. Credit to Luke Lind for the Bison, he worked out of it.
The first inning though would be a troubling trend for the Bison on the weekend. The Mavs again would get a base runner in the second, but not dice. NDSU couldn’t find their rhythm at the plate, and the Mavericks took the initiative in the 3rd. The All-Summit Leaguer Ryan Cate drove in the first run, and then he would come around to score as Omaha took a 2-0 lead. That would become a 3-0 lead in the 4th as Adam Caniglia hit the first homer of the series.
That brought Parker Harm in relief for NDSU, who was as good as anyone throughout the weekend. Outside of one late rally, Omaha would never even sniff a scoring opportunity vs. the young lefty out of Mandan. And North Dakota State did eventually break the shutout, as Alec Abercrombie began his scorching series with a single up the middle to score Tucker Rohde. But unfortunately for an offense that has a great deal of firepower, that would be their only run. Sam Murphy had an outstanding start, and Grant Suponchick came in and shut the door. So NDSU’s win streak was broken, but they had lost the first game of the series last time vs. the Mavs, and looked to come back strong on Day 2.
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