BULLDOGS DEAL WOLVES TWO LOSSES IN NSIC OPENERS

March 29, 2003

Aberdeen, SD - The Northern State University baseball team opened up NSIC play 0-2 with 22-5 and 16-0 losses to Minnesota-Duluth on Saturday afternoon in Aberdeen. The Wolves scored five runs on 13 hits in the first game but were only able to muster two hits in the nightcap.

Following are breif game summaries of the Wolves' doubleheader against Minnesota-Duluth:

Northern State stayed withing striking distance of Minnesota-Duluth down 9-3 after five innings but the Bulldogs blew up for 13 runs in the final two frames to claim the 22-5 victory. Wesley Fisbeck and Dave Holoch each went 3-for-4 in the game with two RBIs and a home run while Holoch crossed home plate twice. Freshman pitcher Joe Fuller went six innings and struck out five. Steve Rixen had a 2-for-4 game with two runs scored as well. Joel Backous and Jay Duehring each extended their team high hitting streaks to ten games.

The Wolves were shutout for just the second time of the year with a 16-0 loss to Minnesota-Duluth on Saturday. NSU stayed within two until the top of the fifth when UMD crossed the plate seven times. The Bulldogs would then score another seven runs in the final two innings to preserve the 16-0 shutout. NSU's two hits came from Deacon Burns and Steve Rixen while Bulldog pitcher Tim Battaglia earned the two-hit shutout.