The #9 Golden Rams suffered a setback on Tuesday in a heavyweight tilt on the road against the #8 ranked Cyclones of St. Cloud Technical & Community College. Despite hitting the ball hard and getting quality pitching for much of the doubleheader, the Golden Rams simply couldn't match the Cyclones' runs. These two losses snap the Golden Rams winning streak at thirteen and move the Cyclones into first place in the MCAC South. Anoka-Ramsey will look to start a new winning streak on Wednesday as they host Ridgewater for a doubleheader.
The Golden Rams got behind quickly in game one, as they trailed 1-0 after the first and 4-0 after the third. They tried to battle back and loaded the bases a few times in the remainder of the game, but unfortunately couldn't drive in enough runs to match the Cyclones. Molly Gross was the starting pitcher who recorded the loss. She struck out six while allowing six hits in 2.2 innings of work. With the loss, Molly Gross is now 11-4 on the year. Lyla Galli finished the game, striking out two and allowing three hits in 3.1 innings of work. The Golden Rams struggled to rack up hits in this one, despite hitting the ball hard for the majority of the game. Anoka-Ramsey hit a lot of strong ground balls and deep flies, but couldn't find the field against a sturdy Cyclone defense. The Golden Rams fell in game one by a final score of 5-1.
In game two, the Cyclones had an early advantage, 3-0 after the first inning. Anoka-Ramsey would answer with two runs in the top of the second, but that would be all the Golden Rams would score for the remainder of the game. Sunny Strait was the starting pitcher who recorded the loss, as she struck out six while allowing ten hits. With the loss, she is now 7-4 on the year. At the plate, the Golden Rams hit the ball hard, but had trouble finding open space on the field and just couldn't get the balls to drop in for hits. Marissa Kerry, Madison Segler and McKenna Packard were all 1-2 while Emma Bright and Hailey Babcock were 1-3. St. Cloud went on to score five runs in the fourth and ended the game early, scoring one in the fifth. The final score in game two was 10-2 Cyclones in five innings.
It was a disappointing result for the Golden Rams on Tuesday, especially after playing so well the last few weeks and earning a split with the Cyclones the last time they faced each other. With the two losses, the Golden Rams are now 25-12 on the season. Head Coach Dave Alto was disappointed with the result today, but believes his team will learn from the losses and continue to get better.
Anoka-Ramsey is next in action on Wednesday, May 4th, as they host Ridgewater in a doubleheader at 3:30 and 5PM in Cambridge.
-Story written by Nick Balmanno, Athletics Intern