A multi-run outburst, especially on the first day of a four-game Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference series, tends to have reverberating effects in the near future.

That was the case on Saturday, as USF (13-19, 8-10) rolled Minot State 7-0 in game one and held on late for a 10-7 win in the nightcap.

The series was supposed to be a weekend homestand for the Beavers (10-14, 2-8), but unplayable conditions in Minot forced both teams into a road trip. The teams started the day in Crofton, Neb., but frost moved the double-header to Yankton.

In game one, the Cougars took an early lead over Minot State and never looked back, cruising to a 7-0 win.

The game was scoreless until the top of the third, when USF sandwiched two singles around a hit by pitch to plate its first run. USF led 2-0 when Zach Ireland's sacrifice scored Corey Vasquez.

The Cougars strung together three straight hits in the fourth to add another tally and moved in front 4-0 with Dylan Dwyer's line drive base knock in the fifth frame.

In the seventh, Ryan Fobes came in to score on a wild pitch before Damian Kardas drove in Dwyer, who had singled. Vasquez followed suit when he beat out an infield RBI single to give USF a comfortable 7-0 lead.

USF exploded for 13 hits in the contest and a quintet of Cougars enjoyed multi-hit outings.  Cutler, Vasquez, Dwyer, Goodenow and Durkin had two hits apiece. Durkin reached base three times in the game, scored once and batted in a run.

Noah Coleman (4-3) was in complete control on the mound. The junior southpaw allowed five hits over seven innings, fanned three and issued one walk. He also kept the ball out of the air, as the Beavers finished with 14 groundouts and just two fly outs.

The Cougars picked up right where they left off in the nightcap. Cutler singled in Noah Durkin, who had led off the top of the first inning with a five-pitch walk.

Minot State would even things in the bottom half with an RBI double.

Three innings later, the Cougars' bats came up big, scoring four runs on four hits. Ireland's one-out left field single would load the bases for Durkin, who delivered a line drive two-run base hit. The center fielder's bad throw permitted Ireland to also score on the play. Durkin stole third and scored on a ground out by Goodenow to give USF a 5-1 lead with two innings in the books.  

Dwyer had a two-run sacrifice in the third. USF stayed busy at the plate, tacking on two runs with sixth inning RBI hits by Cutler and Goodenow.

The Beavers got off the mat and rallied for seven runs in the middle innings, chasing Cougar starter Henry Ojeda and cutting the deficit to 9-7.

The Cougars scored their final run on a wild pitch to lead 10-7 going into the bottom of the ninth inning. Minot State had the potential tying run at the plate with one out, when Cougar ace Derek Fischer was summoned from the pen. Fischer struck out the next batter on three pitches before inducing a ground out to the mound that preserved the win and gave Fischer his second save of the year.

Henry Ojeda (2-4) tossed five innings for USF, giving up three runs on six hits with five walks and a strikeout. Andrew Christensen and Steve Schroer saw action before Fischer took the hill with one out in the ninth inning.

USF racked up 15 hits, and Durkin and Cutler each went 3-for-5 with two RBI to pace the Cougars. Dwyer and Goodenow both finished 1-for-4 with two runs batted in, while Kardas scored two runs and drew a pair of walks.

USF and Minot will conclude the series with a double-header tomorrow in Yankton.