GAME 1 | Minot State 5, Upper Iowa 1 
GAME 2 | Minot State 6, Upper Iowa 4

MINOT, ND --Junior Ricky Apodaca was mowing people down on Saturday, punching out nine Upper Iowa hitters over five innings of work to help lead the Minot State Beavers past the Peacocks 5-1. 

In addition to his nine strikeouts, Apodaca (3-2) threw five innings, giving up one run on three hits and walking three for Minot State (13-13, 7-4). Senior Branden Hatley also made an impact on the mound for the Beavers, throwing two shutout innings while allowing one hit, with no walks and three strikeouts. 

Senior Blake Gallagher led the way offensively for the Beavers, going 2-for-3 in the ballgame with an RBI. Senior Jordan Williams furnished a noteworthy performance as well, adding an RBI. 

GAME 2: Senior Declan Buckle put together a stellar showing at the plate Saturday, hitting two homers to help power the Minot State Beavers over the Upper Iowa Peacocks 6-4.

Senior Zach Newman (1-1) picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Minot State (14-13, 8-4). The left-hander went 3.2 innings, giving up one run on three hits, allowing one walk and striking out two. Freshman Logan Herrera also made an impact on the mound for the Beavers, throwing 1.1 scoreless innings while allowing two hits, with no walks and two strikeouts.

Buckle went 3-for-5 at the plate, supplementing his two home runs with three RBIs. Senior Drew Behling added to Buckle's awesome power-hitting performance by going 3-for-4 with two doubles, a home run and an RBI. Junior Kaiden Cardoso also helped out for the Beavers, going 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs.

GAME 1 | Minot State 5, Upper Iowa 1
HOW IT HAPPENED 
Trailing 1-0, the Beavers first put runs on the board in the third inning. Minot State put together a three-run frame, culminating in a run-scoring single from Williams. 

The Peacocks failed to push any runs across before the Beavers built on their lead in the fifth inning. Minot State managed to push across two runs in the inning, which brought the Beavers lead to 5-1. The score remained 5-1 for the rest of the game, as Minot State coasted to the win. 

GAME 2 | Minot State 6, Upper Iowa 4
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Beavers got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Minot State plated two runs when Cardoso left the yard with junior Ricky Apodaca aboard.

The Peacocks then rallied to score three runs and take a 3-2 lead before the Beavers got back on the board in the fourth. Minot State scored three times, with an output that included home runs from both Behling and Buckle, which brought the Beavers lead to 5-3.

Upper Iowa narrowed Minot State's lead to 5-4 before the Beavers stretched the advantage to 6-4 in the eighth inning. The Beavers recorded a run on Buckle's two-out solo home run off senior Gunnar Foegen. The score remained 6-4 for the rest of the game, as Minot State held on for the win.

GAME 1 | GAME NOTES
» Apodaca struck out nine Peacocks hitters. 
» The Minot State pitching staff combined to strike out 12 Upper Iowa hitters. 
» Minot State's highest scoring inning was the third, when it pushed three runs across. 
» Minot State grabbed the lead at 3-1 in the bottom half of the third and never lost that advantage. 
» Minot State went 2-for-4 (.500) with runners in scoring position. 
» Minot State pitchers limited Upper Iowa to just 1-for-15 (.067) with runners in scoring position. 
» Minot State pitchers faced 32 Upper Iowa hitters in the game, allowing seven ground balls and two fly balls while striking out 12. 
» Gallagher led the Beavers at the plate, going 2-for-3 with an RBI. 

GAME 2 | GAME NOTES
» The Beavers got two home runs off the bat of Buckle.
» Senior Blake Gallagher struck out six Peacocks hitters.
» The Beavers had both Behling and Buckle smack multiple extra-base hits in the ballgame.
» Minot State's highest scoring inning was the fourth, when it pushed three runs across.
» Minot State hitters hit four dingers in the ballgame.
» The Beavers out-hit the Peacocks at an 11-10 clip.
» Minot State pitchers faced 39 Upper Iowa hitters in the game, allowing six ground balls and eight fly balls while striking out 10.
» Buckle led the Beavers at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two home runs and three RBIs.
 

This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.