DUBUQUE, Iowa - The University of Dubuque baseball team battled not only the Simpson College Storm on Friday afternoon, but mother nature was not too kind. Temperature dipped to the 30's along with March winds from the west at 30 mph with gusts approaching 50, but that wasn't the worst part. The Dubuque area showcased a mixture of sleet/snow throughout the chilly nine inning contest. The Spartans would trail the Storm in the middle of the ninth inning, before loading the bases and scoring the tying run. UD would end the game on an error by the short stop which pushed the winning run across the plate with two outs and three left on base, by a final score 8-7.

UD scored eight runs off 10 hits and committed four errors, the Simpson College Storm ended with seven runs on nine hits with three errors. Both teams used three pitchers with the final inning sorting out the game winner. Ben Kettering earned his first win after striking out two and facing the final four batters. Brett Kauzlarich suffered the loss after allowing two runs, with one earned. Cole De Stefenais led the Spartans offense after 3-5 at the plate and a pair of RBI's. He has nine RBI's on the season. At leadoff, Parker Allen went 2-3 and scored twice. Colton Pfeifer finished the chilly day of baseball 2-4 and scored once. Five Spartans would all end the day with a double.

The Spartans continues the American Rivers Conference series on Sunday, March 27 beginning at 12 p.m. The doubleheader originally scheduled for Saturday, March 26 has been pushed back a day due to the cold and wind anticipated for Saturday.