Savage Storm Open Season with Win over NSU

HOT SPRINGS, Ark.  – Cole Canuteson tossed five scoreless innings with nine strikeouts while Damon Burroughs broke open the game with a three-run triple to power Southeastern to a 5-1 win in the season opener over Northeastern State on Friday night in the Dugan Collegiate Invitational in Hot Springs, Ark.
 
The Savage Storm open the year 1-0 and will face off with Washburn at 4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon back in Hot Springs, Ark.
 
Canuteson was dealing on the hill for SE as he struck out nine of the 19 batters he faced and allowed just two hits in five innings of work to earn the victory.
 
Jakob Berger was the first pitcher to see action in relief but he would walk both batters he faced and would get dinged for the lone run allowed in the game.
 
Michael Barta would make his debut next and toss 2.0 innings and scatter two hits with two strikeouts.
 
Hayden Alexander would close out the contest with 2.0 innings of work, striking out five of the six batters he faced.
 
Cameron Cromer led the way for SE with a 3-for-6 effort at the plate with an RBI and a run scored.
 
Burroughs and Reid Rice each added two hits, with Burroughs driving in three runs and Rice adding one RBI.
 
Matt Miles, Jake Miller, and Joseph Ramirez each tacked on a hit as well.
 
SE stranded runners in scoring position in the second through fifth innings before finally breaking through in the top of the sixth.
 
Jake Miller led off with a single and moved to second when Cory Bonstrom was hit by a pitch. A Dylan Herd walk would load the bases, setting the stage for a Burroughs three-run triple to finally break the scoreless tie.
 
Burroughs would score a batter later on a Cameron Cromer RBI single to push the lead to 4-0.
 
It would hit 5-0 two batters later when Cromer score from second on a Rice RBI single.
 
NSU would answer with an Rbi single in the bottom of the sixth inning, but thet threat would end at one run, leaving SE a 5-1 lead.
 
The Storm offense would put runners in scoring position in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings as well, but we unable to drive in a run.
 
Fortunately, neither would the RiverHawks who would only push runners into scoring position one more time, doing so in the seventh with Alexander retiring the final six batters in order to secure the 5-1 win.