SUPERIOR, Wis. – Way back in March, two months to the day to be exact, the Yellowjacket baseball team and Crown College met at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis to open up the 2021 college baseball season. On that day, the Yellowjackets and Storm played twice, with one game being close and one a little more decisive, with Crown winning in both contests.
 
Those were non-conference games, and Saturday afternoon there was more on the line as the Yellowjackets and Storm met with conference positioning on the line. The script was the same, with one game being close and the other more decisive, but the close one provided more drama than those in attendance at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex could ask for.
 
Numerous lead changes led the teams into extra innings and Bryce Meverden (Birnamwood, Wis./Wittenberg-Birnamwood) emerging the hero. Meverden became the oldest Yellowjacket in school history to hit a home run when he sent a 1-0 pitch over the fence in right center field, giving the Yellowjackets a 15-14 win in 10 innings in the opener. Crown earned the split in the second game, shutting out the Yellowjackets 11-0.
 
By splitting Saturday, the Yellowjackets (12-18, 5-7 UMAC) gave themselves some breathing room in the conference standings, currently sitting fifth with four conference games to go and holding the tiebreaker over both North Central and Minnesota Morris, the teams closest to them in the standings.
 
Game One
The Yellowjackets had a lead heading into the ninth inning, but Crown scored three times to move in front 14-12. The Yellowjackets drew even in the bottom of the inning to force extra innings. In the bottom of the 10th the first two hitters were retired quickly, bringing Meverden to the plate. Meverden, who had played just three games heading into the day, was looking for his first hit of the season when he saw a fastball to his liking and drove the pitch well over the fence in right center to give the Yellowjackets the win, and in turn set off a raucous celebration as the Yellowjackets mobbed the beloved veteran.
 
Crown opened the scoring with two runs in the top of the first, but the Yellowjackets got them back in the bottom of the inning when Bryce Flanagan (Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd) launced a long home run over the fence in left field. The three-run shot gave the Yellowjackets a 3-2 lead after one.
 
Crown added two more runs in the top of the second, but again the Yellowjackets had the answer in the bottom of the inning. Ben Rhodes (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) was hit by a pitch and he scored from first on an Iduan Nater (Arecibo, Puerto Rico/Vocacional Antonio Lucchetti) double. Later in the inning Nater scored on a ground out and after two the Yellowjackets led 5-4.
 
In the third Crown jumped back in front, scoring four teams to take an 8-5 lead. They added a single run in the top of the fourth before the Yellowjackets had a big inning and regained the lead.
 
With the bases loaded and one out, Flanagan singled to right center to bring in two runs. Two hitters later Christian Garcia (Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs) singled to center to plate another run. Nick Zezulka (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony Village) came up next with two on and cleared the bases, hitting his second home run of the season to right center to put the Yellowjackets back in front, 11-9.
 
It stayed that way until the seventh when Crown scored twice to draw even. But the Yellowjackets again regained the lead, this time on a Brandon Rolf (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) single to left that scored Rhodes, and the lead was 12-11.
 
Up a run and heading to the ninth, head coach Frank Pufall brought ace Ryan Rodriguez (Chaska, Minn./Chaska) into the game, but the Storm was ready for it and scored three times to go up 14-12.
 
In the bottom of the ninth Zezulka walked and pinch hitter Alex Aguilar (Simi Valley, Calif./Westlake ) doubled, scoring pinch runner Isaac Grothe (East Bethel, Minn./St. Francis) to pull the Yellowjackets to within one. Nolan Wolf (Parker, Colo./St. Anthony Village) came into the game to pinch run and quickly went to third on a wild pitch. He then scored on a Rhodes ground out to tie the game.
 
Nick Shea (Pengilly, Minn./Greenway) came on to pinch hit, and he struck out, but catcher couldn't hold onto the ball. Shea darted toward first and the catcher's throw sailed, heading all the way down the right field line and allowing Shea to reach third. Crown then intentionally walked Rolf and Mike Rodriguez (Chicago, Ill./Gordon Tech) to load the bases and worked out of the jam, preserving the tie and setting the stage for Meverden's heroics.
 
The Yellowjackets had 14 hits in the opener, led by Rolf with three and Flanagan and Garcia with two apiece. Flanagan also scored twice and drove in six.
 
Elliot Danhoff (Gladstone, Mich./Gladstone) started on the mound and pitched four innings, allowing nine runs (eight earned) on 10 hits. He struck out five and walked six. Five relievers went the rest of the way, with David Dibble (Kenosha, Wis./Tremper) getting the win after pitching a scoreless 10th. He is now 2-0 on the year.
 
Game Two
For all the high drama that existed in the first game, there was very little in the second.
 
Crown jumped out to an early lead, getting a two-run home run in the first and adding three more in the top of the third. They would score single runs in the fifth and sixth innings before scoring twice in the each of the eighth and ninth innings.
 
Seth Betts, the pitcher who gave up the Meverden home run in the first game, got the start in the second game and was masterful on the mound for Crown. Betts went the distance to improve to 3-2 on the year. Betts scattered four hits in the complete game effort. He walked one and struck out a dozen Yellowjacket hitters.
 
Mike Rodriguez (Chicago, Ill./Gordon Tech) had two of the four hits in the game for the Yellowjackets.
 
Gunner Johnson (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) started for the Yellowjackets and allowed six runs (four earned) on eight hits over four innings. Jack Barnett (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) came on in relief and gave up five runs (three earned) on five hits over 4.1 innings. Isaac Fugere (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East) closed things out, pitching two-thirds of an inning and striking out two.
 
Next up for the Yellowjackets is a crucial home doubleheader with Northland. The first pitch of the twinbill is set for 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, May 4 at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex in Superior.