By: Scott DCamp, Northland Communications
Northland and Minnesota North College - Hibbing are tied for second in the MCAC North baseball standings after splitting Thursday's doubleheader in Aurora. Both teams went from 8-4 to 9-5 in MCAC north division play and the games themselves couldn't have been any closer, with both teams scoring 12 runs on the day.
MNC-Hibbing claimed game one by a score of 6-5. The Cardinals scored a run in the first, two in the second and three in the third against reigning MCAC North pitcher of the week
Isaac Mata. Mata went the distance and allowed just one earned run in his six innings of work. He walked two batters and struck out three.
The Pioneers were down 3-0 when they loaded the bases in the top of the third on singles by
Auden Venegas and
Connor Hoyt and a walk by Mata. They came up empty, however, as MNC-Hibbing starter Juna Bess struck out
Odhan Manhas, before getting
Gamaliel Vasquez to hit into a fielder's choice.
The Pioneers trailed 6-0 when they got on the board in the top of the fifth. Venegas and Mata walked to lead off the inning, with Venegas scoring and Mata moving to third on a single by Hoyt. Mata scored on a sacrifice fly by Manhas to make the score 6-2, with Hoyt advancing to third. Hoyt scored from third on a single by Vasquez, which made the score 6-3.
The Pioneers got another run back in the sixth inning on a one-out solo home run by
Tyler Tamez, but they still trailed by two runs going into their last at-bat in the top of the seventh.
Jonathan Perez was hit by a pitch with two outs in the inning. He moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Justtin Amesquita.
In game two, the Pioneers started fast with four runs in the top of the first and seven runs in the first four innings of a 7-6 win. Hoyt, Armesquita, Tamez,
Cooper Lawrence and Venegas recorded hits in the top of the first as the Pioneers sent 10 batters to the plate in the opening inning.
The Cardinals got a pair of runs back against Northland game two starting pitcher
Dennis Ashley in the bottom of the first to make the score 4-2. The Pioneers answered with a run in the top of the second. Hoyt and Manhas hit back-to-back singled to lead off the inning, with Hoyt scoring on an error.
The Pioneers answered a Cardinals score with two runs on three hits top of the fourth inning. Manhas and Amesquita singled to lead off the inning. Manhas scored on an RBI groundout by G Vasquiez and Amesquita scored on a sacrifice fly by Tamez.
The Pioneers led 7-3 through four innings, but the Cardinals rallied with three runs on two hits in the bottom of the fifth to make the score 7-6.
The Pioneers had runner in scoring position in the top of the six when Amesquita hit a one out double, but the Pioneers were unable to bring him in.
The Cardinals had two runners reach base in the bottom of the sixth but failed to score. In the seventh MNC-Hibbing's Kristopher Rivera hit a one-out double to get into scoring position. Northlandreliever
Connor Hoyt, who had gotten the final out in the sixth inning, got back-to-back MNC-Hibbing hitters to ground out to end the game and save.
The Pioneers and Cardinals will square off again Sunday at Pioneer Field. Game one is slated to begin at 1 p.m.
April 25, 2024Northland at Minnesota North College - Hibbing
Game 1
5
6
Line Score
| Final |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
R |
H |
E |
| Northland |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
6 |
2 |
| Minnesota North College - Hibbing |
1 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
X |
6 |
8 |
2 |
Box Score
BATTING
HR: Tyler Tamez
RBI: Odhan Manhas , Gamaliel Vasquez , Justin Amesquita , Tyler Tamez
Sac: Jonathan Perez , Justin Amesquita
GIDP: Gamaliel Vasquez , Jonathan Perez
BASERUNNING
SB: Justin Amesquita , Tyler Tamez
FIELDING
E: Jonathan Perez , Demetrius Oberg
BATTING
2B: Misael Santiago , Jacob Madril
HR: Owen Hindermann
RBI: Misael Santiago , Owen Hindermann , Bruce Slygh , Jacob Madril (2)
Sac: Michael Hodsdon
BASERUNNING
SB: Jhonny E. Saez , Jacob Madril (2)
FIELDING
E: Jhonny E. Saez , Juna Bess
DP: Owen Hindermann (2) , Jhonny E. Saez (3) , Jhonny D. Saez (3)
PITCHING
Batters faced: Isaac Mata (31)
HBP: Isaac Mata (3)
| PITCHERS |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
HR |
| Juna Bess (W, 0-0) |
6.0 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
6 |
5 |
1 |
| Darren Loyola |
1.0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Totals |
7.0 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
7 |
5 |
1 |
PITCHING
Batters faced: Juna Bess (29) , Darren Loyola (5)
WP: Darren Loyola
HBP: Darren Loyola
Other Information
| Location: |
Aurora, MN |
| Attendance: |
0 |
| Umpires: |
Home plate - Andy Gomez , First base - Jordan Balow
|
April 25, 2024
Northland at Minnesota North College - Hibbing
Game 2
7
6
Line Score
| Final |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
R |
H |
E |
| Northland |
4 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
13 |
2 |
| Minnesota North College - Hibbing |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
12 |
4 |
Box Score
BATTING
2B: Isaac Mata , Justin Amesquita
RBI: Justin Amesquita , Gamaliel Vasquez , Tyler Tamez , Cooper Lawrence , Auden Venegas
Sac: Tyler Tamez
GIDP: Tyler Tamez
BASERUNNING
SB: Connor Hoyt , Odhan Manhas , Justin Amesquita
FIELDING
E: Gamaliel Vasquez , Jonathan Perez
DP: Gamaliel Vasquez , Jonathan Perez
BATTING
2B: Kristopher Rivera (2) , Jhonny E. Saez , Jhonny D. Saez
HR: Conor Gilreath
RBI: Owen Hindermann , Conor Gilreath , Kristopher Rivera , Jhonny E. Saez , Bruce Slygh (2)
Sac: Toby Colline
FIELDING
E: Kristopher Rivera , Jhonny E. Saez (2) , Jhonny D. Saez
DP: Owen Hindermann , Bruce Slygh
PITCHING
Batters faced: Dennis Ashley (28) , Connor Hoyt (5)
PITCHING
Batters faced: Conor Gilreath (20) , Joss Parantala (16)
HBP: Conor Gilreath
Other Information
| Location: |
Aurora, MN |
| Attendance: |
0 |
| Umpires: |
Home plate - Jordan Balow , First base - Andy Gomez |
