NEWARK, N.J. - The North Dakota baseball team showed plenty of resolve on Saturday to earn a doubleheader split with NJIT at Riverfront Stadium.
After a bases-clearing, walk-off double dealt the Sioux an 8-7 loss in the opener, UND responded with a 6-3 victory behind a complete-game effort by right-hander Jeff Campbell (Clearwater, Fla.) in the night cap.
It was the freshman's team-leading third complete game of the season as he held the Highlanders (16-15, 9-3 GWC) to three earned runs on seven hits to snap an 11-game skid for the Sioux (5-28, 1-11 GWC) to open GWC play this season.
"The way we have been losing games these last three week can't really be explained," UND head coach Jeff Dodson said. "There is nothing you can really do except go out and keep fighting.
"That is what we did in game two and I am really proud of our guys for keeping their chins up and battling through the adversity. There are a lot of good things waiting to happen for us this season."
Game One - NJIT 8, UND 7
Sophomore Tom Bouck's blooper down the left field line turned into a bases clearing, walk-off double to lift the Highlanders to an 8-7 victory in the opener and clinch the series win for the home team.
Bouck's sixth double of the season capped a seventh inning that saw UND break a 3-3 tie with four runs of their own in the top half before the Highlanders staged the improbable rally.
Both starting pitchers fared well in the opener as freshman Tyler Ruemmele (Eden Prairie, Minn) and NJIT's D.J. Roche pitched into the fifth inning of the seven-inning contest.
Ruemmele worked into that pivotal seventh inning, giving way to classmate Brock Johnson (Detroit Lakes, Minn.) after allowing the first two Highlanders to reach base on a walk and an infield single.
Johnson quickly retired the first two batters he faced, but NJIT would string together a trio of two-out singles to make it a 7-5 contest before Bouck cleared the bases on a ball UND left fielder Seth Means (Gillette, Wyo.) made a diving attempt for, but his effort came up just short allowing the game-winning run to score from first.
The Sioux scored their four runs on four hits in the seventh as freshman Alex Twenge (Minneotonka, Minn.) started the frame with a single.
Second baseman Kris Kwak (Maple Grove, Minn.) added a RBI-double, freshman Tyler Follis (Bemidji, Minn.) stroked a two-run double and designated hitter Zack Trygstad (Wayzata, Minn.) capped the scoring with a run-scoring single.
Kwak, Follis and Trygstad each had two hits to pace an eight-hit effort by the UND offense.
Ruemmele allowed only five hits in his six innnings of work and fanned a career-high nine in his second straight strong outing in GWC play. Johnson (1-2) took the loss after working two-thirds of inning.
UND grabbed a 2-1 lead in the fourth and tied the score at 3-3 in the sixth on bases loaded walk by Sam Alt (Lino Lakes, Minn.).
Game Two - UND 6, NJIT 3
The UND offense staked Campbell to a 2-0 lead in the third on a RBI-single by Follis and an uneared run on the first of five errors by the NJIT defense.
The Sioux would make it a 3-0 contest in the fourth on a RBI-singel by Riley Beck (Munich, N.D) before NJIT would get on the board with two runs in the bottom half of that frame.
UND pushed its lead to 5-2 in the seventh thanks to another NJIT miscue and RBI-single by Twenge. The hit was Twenge's career-high third of the game as he made all four starts behind the plate in the series.
The Sioux scored an insurance run in the ninth on a RBI-groundout by senior Kyle Bolander (Hermantown, Minn.).
Campbell (2-5) allowed a solo home run in the ninth, but was able to get his third groundout of the inning to end the contest. He fanned a career-high seven Highlanders in the outing and picked up his team-leading second win of the season.
Follis joined Twenge with a three-hit effort, giving him five hits on the day.
The Sioux return home on Wednesday to begin a 15-game homestand with a doubleheader against Valley City State. The first game is scheduled to go seven innings and will start at 1 p.m.
