Bears Advance to Summit League Championship Game with Walk Off in the 10th

Friday, May 24

Tulsa, Okla.

3 p.m.

University of Northern Colorado

16-38-1

North Dakota State

20-30-1

NDSU

Northern Colorado

5/24/2024 11:05:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Final Box Score (PDF)Season Stats

By: Michael High, Interim Director for Strategic Communications

TULSA, Okla. – Dalton Miller completed Northern Colorado's comeback with an RBI single in the 10^th inning to walk off North Dakota State 10-9 Friday at J. L. Johnson Stadium.

In their first Summit League tournament, the Bears reached the championship game in their Summit League championship game, with the win.

Behind a strong start on the mound by Dylan Smith – the third straight in the championship by UNC (16-38-1) – the Bears held a 4-2 advantage with three innings remaining. Smith finished with a no-decision, with four runs allowed in 6.0+ innings of work, after the two batters he faced in the seventh scored after he was replaced on the mound. He scattered five hits, walked two and fanned four in his outing.

North Dakota State (20-30-1) moved in front with three more runs in the seventh. In the bottom of the frame, UNC cut the deficit with three straight singles to open the frame. Carter Monda trimmed the margin to 7-5 on an RBI knock by Garrett Fisher.

The Bison upped their margin to 9-5 with two markers in the next frame. Following three straight walks on 13 pitches, Monda drove in a run with a fielder's choice, trimming the margin to three. Kai Wagner's double down the left field line scored Carson Gross and Monda and sliced the deficit to 9-8. With two outs Caden Wagner knotted the game with a rocket past the third baseman and scoring younger brother Kai Wagner.

In the ninth, both teams went scoreless, the first time since the second that at least one team did not score in an inning.

Jake Carvajal afforded his team the opportunity for the game-winner when he held the Bison scoreless in the ninth and 10^th innings.

After Caden Wagner reached on an infield single, he moved to second on a hit-and-run ground out by Brandon Sanchez. Moving station-to-station, Caden Wagner advanced 90 feet on a single by Craig Kenny and scored on the single by Miller.

Saturday's championship game features the first-ever match-up between the third and fourth seeds in the title game when No. 4 UNC and No. 3 Oral Roberts meet at noon. If the Bears defeat the Golden Eagles, the teams meet in a winner-take-all approximately 30 minutes after the final out of the first game.

All games are available on the Summit League Network.

Tournament Notes
UNC looks to become the first No. 4 seed to win the tournament since North Dakota State defeated Western Illinois in 2014.
The Bears are the third No. 4 seed to reach the championship game in the last six tournaments.
UNC reached the title game in its third season in the Summit League and first tournament appearance.
Oral Roberts seeks its 22^nd tournament title and 42^nd Summit League championship overall, including 20 regular-season titles.
Saturday's matchup is the first between the No. 3 seed and No. 4 seed in the tournament title game.
Western Illinois knocked off Fort Wayne 8-7 in 10 innings, the last extra-inning tournament game.
Omaha is the first No. 1 seed to go 0-2 in the championship.

Individual Notes
Caden Wagner snapped a 0-for-10 streak in the tournament, with a solo home run in the fifth.
He finished 3-for-6, with two runs, including the game-winner and two RBIs.
Kai Wagner went 3-for-4, with a run and two driven in.
Carson Gross went 2-for-5, with a run and two RBIs.
Craig Kenny went 2-for-6.
Carter Monda went 1-for-5, with a pair of runs and two driven in.
Garrett Fisher went 1-for-6, with a run driven in.
Brandon Sanchez went 1-for-5 with a run scored.
Dalton Miller came off the bench, drew a walk and went 1-for-2, scoring once and driving in one.
Austin Bunn scored two runs.
Jake King tallied a hit and a walk in two plate appearances.