MINOT, N.D. – With the University of Minnesota Crookston coming in to Minot as the fifth team in the NSIC baseball standings Wednesday afternoon Minot State University would need a full team effort to earn a win.
 
With six Beavers recording at least one hit, four recording at least one RBI, good defensive play and a starting pitcher who never left the mound, MSU gave a full team effort in the against the visiting Golden Eagles in game one.
 
In the second inning of game one Minnesota Crookston put two runs on the board with a home run from Riley Thompson, but the lead would only last a few more innings as Minot State put up eight runs in the next fourth, fifth and sixth innings. UMC put up one more run in the final inning before grounding out to second base to end the game 8-3.
 
The first MSU run came from Celestino Rodriguez with a solo shot homer in the fourth inning. Rodriguez would bring in two more runs in the fifth inning as well. The freshman from Crystal Lake, Ill. has made quite the offensive impact this season and with a second home run in the second game of the day he is just one shy of tying the single season record for the Beavers.
 
"It's awesome to see him succeeding," head coach Brock Weppler said. "Sal's going to be a good hitter over his time here. Sal's a strong kid and he's only going to get stronger and better. He's had a really good year. You don't always see that from freshmen, but he has a really good approach at the plate and he understands the game. He goes up to bat with confidence and I'm excited to see where that takes him over the next few years."
 
Pitching for the Beavers, Kendal Daniels recorded his second complete game of the season and third complete game on the year for team.
 
"He did a great job" Weppler said. "He came out and attacked the zone, limited the free passes. Crookston's a lot like Mary, if we can play good defense and limit the walks you can interrupt their game plan. Kendal came after guys today, he controlled the zone and was able to come in on guys. As we got into the third or fourth inning he got all of his pitches going. He looked great today."
 
Daniels struck out 10 of the 27 batters he faced while allowing just two earned runs on six hits.
 
"Pitching with a lead is a lot easier," Daniels said. "It lets you pitch with confidence, not every pitch is so stressful. When you have a three-run lead you can get away with one bad pitch so it allows you to relax."
 
In the second game Minot State played into Minnesota Crookston's game, allowing them to capitalize on certain mistakes.
 
"In game two we gave them opportunities," Weppler said. "Whether it's walks or errors defensively, every time we made a mistake they took advantage of it. They have made that their game this season, when other teams make mistakes that's when they win."
 
With another home run hit in game two and a single Rodriguez led the team with four hits and had his second three-RBI game of the day. He leads the Beavers with 46 total RBIs on the season.
 
Michael Borst and Kyle Williamson each had two RBIs on the day for MSU while Jordan Schulz and Sean Alp recorded three hits apiece. Schulz also recorded one run in each game moving his streak to eight games in a row with at least one run scored.
 
Minot State will finish its season this weekend with a four-game series against St. Cloud State. Friday, May 6, the first double header will begin at 4 p.m. and on Saturday, May 7, the Beavers will host their senior day with games beginning at 1 p.m.
 
About Minot State
Minot State University is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and NCAA Division II offering 14 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletics programs. The NSIC is a premier NCAA DII, 16-member conference featuring teams in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa. The Beavers are the only public NCAA Division II institution in the state of North Dakota.