St. Peter, Minn. – The Crown baseball team "hosted" Minnesota Morris in a game played on the artificial turf at Gustavus Adolphus College on Tuesday for the opening game of the 2022 UMAC season. Crown was dominant, striking out 14 Cougar hitters and scoring 13 runs in a 13-3 victory to open the conference season.
Eric Newman got the start for Crown and cruised through five innings before allowing a trio of Morris runs in the sixth and earned his third win of the season. The senior scattered four hits and walked one while striking out nine over his six frames.
Tyler Vancise finished things off for Crown, pitching two clean innings and allowing a pair of hits while striking out five. The game finished after the eighth due to the ten-run mercy rule.
The Crown offense continued to fire on all cylinders as five players recorded multiple hits and the Storm scored ten runs or more for the seventh time in 15 games to start the season.
Things started at the top with leadoff man
Devyn Wilson-Cowan recording three hits with as many runs scored and an RBI.
Seth Betts went 2-3 with a walk out of the two-hole, scoring three runs and adding an RBI as well.
The speedy duo atop the Crown lineup combined for seven stolen bases, with Betts nabbing four bags and tying the program's single-game record in the process.
Rhys Dewick and
Bailey Sarto each went 2-5 and freshman
Ashton Long collected three hits and a walk, reaching base in four of five plate appearances.
In total, Crown had 13 hits, eight walks, and stole eleven bases.
The Storm are back in action this weekend with a three game set against Martin Luther in New Ulm. Crown plays at 3 p.m. on Friday and will then have a double-header starting at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.
