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SU Rolls Past DSU in Opening Round
Posted: May 01, 2025

SU Rolls Past DSU in Opening Round

Powered by Dylan Leek and Cayden Lee, Simpson advanced into the winner's bracket of the North Star Athletic Association Baseball Championship with a 9-5 win over Dakota State (SD) place at the Dakota Community Bank & Trust Ballpark in Dickinson, ND.  Leek, the Red Hawks' leadoff hitter, went 4-for-4, including a solo home run in the 8th, and Lee went 3-for-5 with a pair of home runs that plated four runners to lead the 12-hit attack.  The NSAA has two automatic bids to the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round, the first going to Bellevue (Neb.), the regular season champion.  The tournament champion receives the NSAA's second automatic berth to the Opening Round, which will be played on May 12-15 at regional campus sites.  The national tournament's Opening Round winners move on to the Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series in Lewiston, Ida., on May 23-31.  If Bellevue wins the postseason tournament, the second automatic bid will go to the tournament's runner-up.

Box Score

SU (21-26) appeared ready to run away from the Trojans (24-23), putting six runs on the board in the first two innings.  Jaxon Hotta drove in the first two runs with a single in the 1st, and the Red Hawks doubled that with four in the 2nd.  Dominic Folks plated a runner with a single, setting up a three-run blast off the bat of Lee.

But SDU was not done, pulling to within one run over a three-inning span and chasing starter Gage Hoyle, the Cal Pac Pitcher of the Year.  Hoyle lasted until the 6th inning but left with a lead and eventually earned the win, his eighth in nine decisions.  Geremy McCollough, Ruben Lujan, and Logan Boenker combined to shut down the Trojans over the final 3.1 innings, allowing just one hit.

The Red Hawks lengthened their lead with an RBI-single from Leek in the 5th and a solo homer from Lee in the 6th and added an insurance run on Leek's solo shot in the 8th.

 

2025 NORTH STAR ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

Hosted by Dickinson State | Dickinson, ND

(All times PT)

Thursday, May 1

Game 1:  #1 Bellevue (Neb.) 9, #8 Valley City State (ND) 3

11:00 am - Game 2:  #4 Simpson 9, #5 Dakota State (SD) 5

3:00 pm - Game 3:  #7 Mayville State (ND) vs. #2 Jamestown (ND)

6:00 pm - Game 4:  #6 La Sierra vs. #3 Dickinson State (ND)

 

Friday, May 2

8:00 am - Game 5:  Valley City State (ND) vs. Dakota State (SD) (loser eliminated)

11:00 am - Game 6:  Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 (loser eliminated)

3:00 pm - Game 7:  Bellevue (Neb.) vs. Simpson

6:00 pm - Game 8:  Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4

 

Saturday, May 3

8:00 am - Game 9:  Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 6 (loser eliminated)

11:00 am - Game 10:  Loser Game 8 vs. Winner Game 5 (loser eliminated)

3:00 pm - Game 11:  Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8

6:00 pm - Game 12:  Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 9

 

Sunday, May 4

10:00 am - Game 13:  Loser Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 (Ioser eliminated)

1:30 pm - Championship:  Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 13

 

Monday, May 5

10:00 am - Championship (if necessary)