The Sioux Falls baseball team (4-11) opened its NSIC slate with back-to-back losses to No. 11 St. Cloud State (13-2) late Friday night. The Cougars were shut out 10-0 in the opener and fell 10-2 in the nightcap where the final out wasn't recorded to well past 1 a.m. on Saturday.
St. Cloud State senior Scott Leiser tossed a no-hitter Friday night en route to a 10-0 win over Sioux Falls in the opener of a four-game NSIC baseball series that is being contested at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn.
Leiser needed just 73 pitches in the dominating performance and was one hit-by-pitch away from notching a perfect game. He walked no batters and struck out four.
USF's only baserunner came in the bottom of the fifth, when freshman Kelby Beste earned first base the hard way, taking a pitch off the wrist on 1-1 count.
Sophomore Eric Brothers took the loss the USF. The sophomore righthander surrendered 10 runs (three earned) on 14 hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Senior James Rader provided an inning of hitless relief.
The Huskies scored in five of nine innings in game two and used a five-run eighth frame to put the Cougars on ice. Sean Borman had two RBI, two hits and an inside the park homer for the Huskies, while Travis Enger went 4-for-4 with three RBI.
Chris Kubitz worked seven innings to pick up the win. He scattered five hits and finished with three strikeouts. SCSU's bullpen took care of the rest, as Nick Maiers and Ryan Diers combined to allow one run on hit in two innings of relief.
The loss on the mound was charged to Henry Ojeda (1-2). The junior gave up five runs on 10 hits with two strikeouts and a walk in six innings. Rader returned to the mound in the eighth and proceeded to toss two more scoreless innings and notched a pair of strikeouts.
Noah Durkin went 2-for-5 at the plate to lead the Cougars. Trevor Crow was 1-for-4 with an RBI and Zach Ireland, Keith Cutler and Jeremy Varner accounted for the Cougars' other three base hits.
The two teams will complete the series with a doubleheader beginning at 10:30 p.m. Saturday.
