WINONA, MINN. – With Noah Christenson and Tyler Cate providing clutch run-scoring hits and a trio of pitchers shining on the hill, the University of Sioux Falls Baseball Team (25-25, 17-18 NSIC) closed out the regular season with a 5-1 win over Winona State (13-21, 11-12 NSIC) in game two of a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference doubleheader on Tuesday. In the opener, the Cougars dropped a close 5-4 decision to the Warriors.

With the victory, USF retained its hold on fifth place in the NSIC with a 17-18 record. With a .485 winning percentage the Cougars sit just ahead of Minnesota Duluth at 14-15 at .483 while Winona State is at 11-12 for a .478 mark in seventh place. Both UMD and Winona State have three games to play while the Cougars' regular season is over. The teams are vying for one of eight spots in the NSIC Tourney on May 11-14 in Sioux Falls.

The win gave USF a DII-program best 25 wins and also a program-best NSIC win mark of 17.
 
Game 1 – Winona State 5 Sioux Falls 4 (7 inn.)
Despite a solid outing from Mason Leonard on the hill, the Cougars dropped a heart-breaker to Winona State, 5-4.

USF jumped to a 4-0 lead over the Warriors as Connor King and Tyler Blackburn both supplied two-run hits. Blackburn had a pair of hits and two RBI to lead USF's offense which had six hits. Kyle Gulbrandson, Grant Lung and Noah Christenson also had hits.

Leonard worked four innings and allowed four runs on five hits with five strikeouts and two walks. Alex Krout (0-3) took the loss as he allowed just one hit and had three strikeouts in two innings.

After USF built the four-run lead, WSU answered with a four-spot in the bottom of the fifth inning. Then, Cooper Capanke hit a go-ahead home run in the sixth inning, and it held up. Kapanke had two of WSU's six hits. Caleb Strack (3-1) earned the win as he allowed two hits and struck out four hitters in 2 2/3 innings.

Game 2 – Sioux Falls 5 Winona State 1 (9 innings)
With Cole Schumacher, Logan Parker-Sjoberg and Zachary Shastay doing quality work on the hill and Noah Christenson and Tyler Cate providing clutch two-run hits, the Cougars closed the regular season with a 5-1 win over WSU in the regular season final.

The Cougars took a 1-0 lead in the second inning as Ben Serie scored on a sacrifice fly by Grant Lung. In the bottom of the third inning, Nick Herbst doubled to bring home Cooper Kapanke and tie the game. In the fifth inning, Noah Christenson delivered with a two-run single to bring home Tyler Cate and Kyle Gulbrandson. Cate then added a two-run hit for a 5-1 lead in the eighth inning.

On the hill, Cole Schumacher worked four innings and allowed just three hits and a run in an effective start. Logan Parker-Sjoberg (3-1) earned the win by working three innings and allowing just two hits and no runs. Zachary Shastay came on with one on and no outs in the eighth inning and recorded two strikeouts in holding the lead for USF across the final two innings of the game.

In USF's 12-hit attack, Cate had two hits and two RBI while Christenson also had a pair of hits and two RBI. Brady Klehr supplied three hits while senior Kyle Gulbrandson had a pair of hits, including a double, in his final regular season game at USF.

Cameron Kramer (1-6) took the loss after allowing three runs and seven hits with a strikeout across five innings. Three other WSU pitchers finished up.

STATS – OVERVIEW
Through 50 games, the Cougars had a DII-program-best 25 wins with 14 of 26 coming at home at First National Bank Field in Brandon, S.D. The Cougars finished the regular season with a .278 average and 279 runs on 423 hits with 89 extra base knocks. USF had 26 home runs and 57 doubles. The Cougars had a .375 slugging and .368 OBP with 85 stolen bases. Sophomore Noah Christenson led USF in four offensive categories including average (.354), hits (63), RBI (40) and OBP (.403). He also had a .433 slugging along with 12 steals in 13 attempts. In his first year as a starter, Brady Klehr hit .338 with six home runs and 29 RBI with a team-high .517 slugging while have a .379 OBP. Tyler Cate hit .298 with 54 hits, .390 OBP and 13 stolen bases. Senior Trey Hubers was at .289 for an average with 28 RBI while Grant Lung hit .275 with a .380 OBP and had a team-high 16 steals.

On the hill, USF finished with a 5.95 earned run average and 346 strikeouts in 382.2 innings. Caleb Ditmarson led starters with a 4-3 record, 3.93 earned run average and 51 strikeouts. Alex Krout (0-3) had a 2.86 earned run average and eight saves (program-best 14 in his career).