FARGO, N.D. - Six years ago today, the North Dakota State baseball team won the Summit League Baseball Tournament Championship for the first time on May 24, 2014.
It was the third-straight season the Bison had reached the championship series, but this time completed the weekend with a 3-0 record and a trip to the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament for the first time.
"When we got to the tournament, it felt like our guys were not going to be denied," NDSU head coach
Tod Brown said. "They had a mission to win the whole thing."
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NDSU entered the weekend as the number four seed and opened the tournament against top-seeded South Dakota State. The two teams had just played a regular season series the weekend before, splitting the four games to end the regular season. The Jacks led 2-1 into the eighth inning before Kyle Kleinendorst hit a two-run triple to give the Bison the lead. Kleinendorst later scored on a wild pitch to give NDSU a 4-2 lead before holding on for a 4-3 victory. David Ernst earned the win on the mound, while Trevor Jaunich earned his seventh save of the season. Both pitchers struck out three batters.
"When you play in a tournament, to win the tournament you have to go through a really close game or a tight game," Brown added. "You have to win that game. We felt like that was a tough matchup."
In the semifinal win over Western Illinois, the Bison scored three runs in the fourth inning to take a 3-0 lead. The Leathernecks scored their lone run in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly before NDSU added a run in the sixth and two more in the eighth to seal their third-straight trip to the championship game. Parker Trewin tossed a complete game, allowing just six hits and striking out eight.
"Parker was just dominate against Western Illinois," Brown said. "That was probably one of the best games all year. We executed some bunts, had quality pitching and great defensive plays. It was a very well played game for the Bison."
Western Illinois knocked off South Dakota State to reach the championship game against NDSU. The Bison jumped all over the Leathernecks in the first inning. A single by Michael Leach drove in a pair of runs before John Skrbec hit a grand slam, giving NDSU a 6-0 lead in the first inning. The Bison added two more runs in second inning on RBI singles by Nick Altavilla and Leach. The final run of the 9-0 victory came in the fifth inning, as Jon Hechtner was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. NDSU got 8.1 shutout innings from Reed Pfannenstein before Jaunich closed out the game.Â
"Once we got that grand slam, the next inning was critical," Brown added. "Reed showed no signs of letting down. He went out and had a quick inning. When we scored two runs in the next inning, our guys were fired up and their confidence was at an all-time high. Our guys were not going to be denied that day. It was painful in 2012 and 2013 for a lot of kids on that team. The fastest way to win the championship is to do it in the first game."
With the tournament victory, the Bison advanced to the NCAA Tournament and played in the Corvallis Regional. NDSU faced number two Oregon State in the first game, dropping a 2-1 game to the Beavers. The Bison were eliminated by second-seeded UNLV with a 2-1 loss.
