University of Northern Colorado Athletics
University of Northern Colorado
7-25-1, 6-6-1
North Dakota State
8-21, 5-5
Storey Changed the Narrative; Bears Walk-Off Bison
4/12/2024 11:12:00 PM | Baseball
The sophomore from Frisco, Texas, entered with his team down 11-6 and spun the best outing of his collegiate career. Storey entered with one on and no outs in the fourth, with three runs in the inning. He slammed the door shut striking out a pair, with a baserunner erased on the base paths.
Storey allowed one run in the fifth but held North Dakota State's offense at bay and kept his team in striking distance. He scattered six hits and walked one. He established career highs with eight strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings of relief.
UNC got off the mat twice for a 13-12 walk-off victory over the Bison. The comeback culminated with a one-out double down the left-field line off the bat of Kai Wagner, scoring Carson Gross from second.
The Bears trailed 4-0 before their first at-bat of the game and 11-6 after three and a half innings. They responded with one in the fourth, two in the sixth and one in the eighth but trailed 12-10 going into the bottom of the ninth and facing Joey Danielson, the leader in saves in the Summit League. He stranded a pair of Bears in the eighth inning and seeking a four-out save.
Carter Monda led off the ninth, reaching after Danielson hit him on the back of the foot. Dalton Miller followed with a double through the right side of the infield and hustled into scoring position. A balk advanced the runners 90 feet and put the tying run on third.
Following a strikeout, Gross worked a six-pitch walk and put runners on the corners. The Wagner brothers delivered opposite-field knocks to complete the first walk-off victory for the Bears this season. Caden Wagner flicked a single into shallow right, evening the score at 12 when Miller crossed the plate. When Kai Wagner's double landed safely in fair territory the Bears departed the dugout and sprinted towards second base to mob their teammate in jubilation.
Not in the starting lineup, Gross joined the contest as an injury replacement on defense just two batters into the game and made an immediate impact. He put UNC on the board with a two-run home run in the first, slicing the deficit in half.
Garret Fisher walked and Austin Bunn blasted the 3-1 offering over the barrier in left-center to even the score at 4-4 after one inning. UNC added two in the second but North Dakota State responded with seven unanswered before the Bears began to claw back into the contest.
Murphy Geinger relieved Storey with one on and two outs in the ninth and threw two pitches to retire the side and earned his second win of the season.
Up Next
The two squads continue the series with the middle game of the weekend series at noon Saturday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Gienger, Murphy (2-2)
L: Joey Danielson (0-4)
Batting:
3B: Jack Steil 1
HR: Jake Schaffner 1 ; Colten Becker 1
RBI: Jake Schaffner 2 ; Colten Becker 2 ; Sam Canton 2 ; Jack Steil 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Jake Schaffner 1 ; Cadyn Schwabe 3 ; James Dunlap 3 ; Colten Becker 2 ; Sam Canton 2 ; Will Busch 1
SB: Cadyn Schwabe 2 ; James Dunlap 1 ; Colten Becker 1 ; Jack Steil 1
CS: Sam Canton 1 ; Jack Steil 1 ; Will Busch 1
HBP: Cadyn Schwabe 1 ; Sam Canton 1
PO: Will Busch 1
Batting:
2B: Wagner, Kai 1 ; Miller, Dalton 1
HR: Gross, Carson 1 ; Bunn, Austin 1
RBI: Gross, Carson 2 ; Wagner, Caden 1 ; Wagner, Kai 2 ; Kenny, Craig 3 ; Bunn, Austin 2
SF: Kenny, Craig 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Zinicola, Zain 3 ; Gross, Carson 3 ; Wagner, Caden 1 ; Fisher, Garrett 1 ; Bunn, Austin 1 ; Monda, Carter 2 ; Romero, Jackson 1 ; Miller, Dalton 1
HBP: Zinicola, Zain 1 ; King, Jake 1 ; Monda, Carter 1
