May 12, 2012
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
FARGO, N.D. Tim Ryan had six hits on the day, as Oakland (21-27, 12-4) split a doubleheader, 12-7 and 7-6, at North Dakota State (36-15, 12-7) on Saturday at Newman Outdoor Field. Head coach John Musachio earned his 100th career win for the Golden Grizzlies, who remain in first place in The Summit League.
"Our team showed tremendous resilience today," said Oakland head coach John Musachio. "We did not play our best baseball in game one, but we bounced back and showed our true grit in game two of the series. Hager didn't have his best stuff today, but he competed and gave us a chance to win and Russ Luxton came in and did a great job in a tough situation."
Game 1
Tim Ryan and Jake Morton both went 3-for-4, but Oakland saw a ninth-inning rally fall short in a 12-7 loss in the first game of the Saturday doubleheader. The loss ended Oakland's consecutive league win streak at nine games, the most for any team this season.
OU trailed 12-4 heading into the final inning but scored three runs to make it close. OU loaded the bases with no outs and scored on a wild pitch to make it 12-5. An RBI-single by Aaron Cieslak made it 12-6, but Mike Carson tried to advance two bases on the play and was retired for the first out of the inning. Trent Drumheller drove in another run later in the inning, but it was as close as Oakland would get.
Ryan scored in the first inning to give Oakland the early lead, but NDSU tied the game in the bottom of the first and then took a commanding lead by scoring five in the bottom of the second. NDSU led by as much as 9-1 before Oakland rallied for three runs in the fifth and three runs in the ninth.
The Golden Grizzlies outhit the Bison 13-12, but were undone by five errors. Five of the North Dakota State runs were unearned.
Ryan scored three runs and Morton scored twice and drove in a run. Carson and Cieslak both had two RBIs for the Golden Grizzlies.
Hayden Fox (1-6) took the loss, after striking out six and allowing just four earned runs over four innings of work. David Ernst (5-0) earned the win and remained undefeated for the season.
Game 2
Ryan was 3-for-5 and drove in a pair of runs and scored once in Oakland's 7-6 win. The Golden Grizzlies' Russell Luxton also picked up his 10th save of the season.
Oakland trailed 4-2 before scoring five runs in the fourth inning to take the lead for good. Ryan had the big play in the inning, when he reached on an error that allowed two runs to score.
Jason Hager (3-3) got the win for Oakland and had five strikeouts for the Golden Grizzlies. Luxton (10) earned his second save of the series. He is now one save shy of the OU single-season record for saves. Luke Anderson (8-3) took the loss for NDSU.
"This is a resilient group, that just finds ways to win," concluded Musachio. The Oakland head coach earned his 100th victory as head coach at Oakland.
Oakland and North Dakota State will wrap up the series on Sunday 2 p.m. ET.
-OAKLAND-
