OMAHA, Neb. – (NDSU Athletics) The second-seeded North Dakota State baseball team split a doubleheader with top-seeded Oral Roberts to win the 2025 Summit League Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Tal Anderson Field.
With the win, the Bison (20-32, 13-15 Summit) secured their third Summit League Tournament championship and first since 2021. It also marks the first Summit League Tournament championship under fourth-year head coach Tyler Oakes. NDSU will advance to the NCAA Tournament with the NCAA Baseball Tournament Selection Show set for Monday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN2.
NDSU earned six All-Tournament selections with Sam Canton, Davis Hamilton, Nolan Johnson, Logan Knight, Danny Lachenmayer and Jake Schaffner each earning a spot. Johnson also became the third player to be named the Summit League Championship Most Valuable Player in program history.
In game two of the doubleheader, Canton gave the Bison a jumpstart after he sent a two RBI single into right field to make the score 2-0 in the third inning. Jack Schark answered for Oral Roberts (37-22, 21-9 Summit) with an RBI single to cut the edge to 2-1 in the fourth inning. Hamilton responded for the Bison with an RBI ground out score Schaffner to push the lead to 3-1 in the fifth.
The Golden Eagles were able to trim the deficit down to 3-2 in the sixth with a bases-loaded walk from Keaton Campbell. Following a scoreless seventh inning, Alex Urlaub delivered insurance with an RBI double down the left line to increase the lead to 4-2 in the eighth. Lachenmayer then closed the game firing four strikeouts over the final two frames to secure the 4-2 victory.
As a team, the Bison totaled nine hits with Schaffner going 2-of-4 at the plate with two runs and one stolen base. Colten Becker also added two hits on three appearances.
The NDSU pitching staff combined for 10 strikeouts with Lachenmayer picking up his eighth save of the season. The Eagan, Minn., native tossed a season-high seven strikeouts with no runs, two walks and two hits over 3.1 innings. Hayden Sylte (1-0) earned his first win of the season with one strikeout over 1.2 innings. Johnson made the start on the mound with two strikeouts over 4.0 innings.
In game one, the Bison fell short against the Golden Eagles, 3-1. Schark started the scoring for Oral Roberts with an RBI sacrifice ground out in the opening inning to make the score 1-0. The Golden Eagles then added another run in the fourth with a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ethan Fender to extend the edge to 2-0. Schaffner cut the deficit in half for the Bison after he lifted an RBI sacrifice fly to right field to score Blake Timmons. However, Cooper Combs then added some insurance with a solo home run down the left line in the eighth inning to help secure the 3-1 victory.
The Bison posted five hits as a team with Schaffner contributing one hit and one RBI, while Timmons also added one hit and one run.
Parker Puetz (1-3) made the start and tossed a season-best five strikeouts over 3.0 innings, while Landon Koenig added two strikeouts over 3.0 innings. Skyler Riedinger closed out the final 3.0 innings with three strikeouts. It marked his 84th career appearance over five seasons, which is the most in NDSU history.
Game Recap: Baseball | 5/24/2025 8:29:00 PM
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