SANFORD, FLA. – With two hits from Tyler Cate and Connor King and a solid relief effort from Connor McGonigal, the University of Sioux Falls Baseball Team (8-7) closed its play in the Russmat Central Florida Invitational with an 8-6 nonconference win over St. Cloud State (8-6) on Sunday (March 13).

With its second straight win, the Cougars finished the play in Florida with a 3-3 record. Now, USF will open the NSIC schedule with an eight-game home stand which starts against Minnesota Crookston on March 19-20 at First National Bank Field in Brandon, S.D.

"It wasn't the prettiest game but it was good to beat a solid NSIC opponent like St. Cloud State to end our trip with a win," said USF Head Coach Grant Hieb. "It was great to see our bullpen pick each other up and help us to the win. All of them threw well from Alex (Krout) to Connor (McGonigal), Mason (Leonard) and then Matt (Graham) earning his first career save. We will use this week ahead of us to get healthy and be ready to open the conference season next weekend at home against Minnesota Crookston," he said.

On Sunday, USF was led by Cate and King with two hits as the offense had eight hits to produce eight runs. Cate, who pushed his season average to .375 on the season, had two singles, a run scored and two RBI while King added two hits, two runs scored and an RBI. USF also had a hit and RBI from Noah Christenson while Zach Andreasen had a hit and two runs scored. Brady Klehr and Trey Hubers both had a hit and run scored.

Connor McGonigal (2-0) earned his second win of the season as he threw 3 1/3 things and allowed just two hits while striking out four batters. McGonigal, who dropped his earned run average to 0.96, led a stellar effort out of the bullpen in which USF allowed just one earned run across eight innings. Logan Parker-Sjoberg started and did not allow a run in one inning. Alex Krout worked 2 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and one earned run with three strikeouts. Mason Leonard also threw an inning of relief with two strikeouts while senior Matt Graham closed and earned his first career save. He gave up a hit and had two strikeouts as the Cougars finished with 13 in the game.

USF scored five runs on four hits and two errors by SCSU in the second inning. After SCSU cut the lead to 5-1, Cate's two-run single gave USF a 7-1 lead in the third inning. SCSU took advantage of three errors by USF to scored five unearned runs in the fourth inning and draw within, 7-6. USF added a run in the eighth inning when King scored on a passed ball.

Stat Wrap – Through 15 games, USF is hitting .299 as a team with 139 hits, 102 runs and 31 extra base hits, which includes three triples, 21 doubles and seven home runs. The Cougars have a .402 slugging mark and a .387 OBP. Noah Christenson leads USF in hitting with a .434 mark as he has a team-high 23 hits and is slugging .509 with a .467 OBP. With his two hits today, Tyler Cate is hitting .375 with a .429 slugging mark and .435 OBP. He has 21 hits and is 5-of-5 on stolen bases. Brady Klehr is batting .350 with a team-high .550 slugging and .381 OBP. In addition, Tyler Blackburn is hitting .321 with a .536 slugging mark. Trey Hubers, who has a team-high 13 RBI, is hitting .313 with a .386 OBP. In total, USF has seven players hitting better than .300. On defense, USF has turned nine double plays. On the mound, USF has a 6.14 earned run average with 105 strikeouts in 110 innings. Connor McGonigal is 2-0 with a 0.96 earned run average while Caleb Ditmarson is 2-1 with a 4.24 earned run average and a team-high 18 strikeouts.
 
Florida breakdown - In Florida, USF hit .255 as a team, led by Tyler Cate with a .348 average. Brady Klehr hit .333 with Tyler Blackburn at .308 with Ben Serie at .300. Noah Christenson had a team-best six RBI. On the mound, USF had a 4.14 earned run average with a complete game, two saves and 46 strikeouts in 50 innings. On the trip, Caleb Ditmarson was 1-0 with a 1.29 earned run average with eight strikeouts in seven innings complete game. Matt Graham was 1-0 in two appearances with four strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings and a 0.00 earned run average. Connor McGonigal was also 1-0 with a 0.00 earned run average in two appearances in which he threw 4 2/3 innings and allowed just two hits with seven strikeouts.