DICKINSON, N.D. – La Sierra used a five-run eighth inning to complete a come-from-behind 7-4 win over Simpson (Calif.) in a loser’s bracket elimination game at the North Star Athletic Association Baseball Postseason Tournament on Saturday night at Dakota Community Bank & Trust Ballpark.

With the win, the Golden Eagles (21-19) advanced in the bracket and ended the Red Hawks' season at 21-28 overall.

Simpson held a 4-2 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth before La Sierra capitalized on two defensive miscues and clutch hits to surge ahead. Ethan Gibbs opened the inning with a double and later scored on a single from Matthew Pontes. An error on a bunt by Colin Mitchell allowed Trevor Smentek to score the tying run. Moments later, a passed ball scored Pontes to give La Sierra the lead. Bobby Benavidez capped the rally with a two-run single to right, extending the advantage to 7-4.

La Sierra reliever Nico Masucci closed the door from there, tossing five scoreless innings while allowing just two hits and striking out seven. Masucci entered the game in the fifth and earned the win, facing 18 batters and throwing 66 pitches in the outing.

Simpson struck first in the opening frame. Isaiah Alcala scored on a wild pitch and Mario Catalan stole home after reaching on a single, giving the Red Hawks a 2-0 lead. La Sierra got one back in the third when Benavidez led off with a single, advanced on a misplay in the outfield, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Adam Amaro.

The Red Hawks added two more runs in the fifth. After a leadoff double by Aden Munoz, Catalan delivered an RBI single and later scored on a base hit from Dominic Folks to extend Simpson’s lead to 4-1.

In the seventh, Steven Chavez sparked La Sierra with a solo home run to cut the deficit to two runs. Chavez finished the day 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Pontes added a 3-for-4 performance with two runs batted in, while Gibbs went 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored.

Simpson’s Hyunwoo Kim was solid in the start, allowing just two runs (both earned) on six hits over 6.1 innings while striking out four. However, the Red Hawks bullpen couldn’t hold the lead. Reliever Logan Boenker gave up five runs—two earned—on four hits in one inning of work and took the loss.

Catalan led the Simpson offense with a 3-for-4 effort, scoring once and driving in one. Munoz also had a strong showing, finishing 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored.

In total, La Sierra outhit Simpson 12-9 and took advantage of three Red Hawk errors. The Golden Eagles turned timely defense into momentum, including a double play to end the second and a pickoff in the seventh that helped stifle a potential Simpson rally.

La Sierra used three pitchers in the win. Starter Alex Cummings allowed two runs (one earned) over three innings, followed by one inning from Jayden Jones. Masucci took over from there and shut the Red Hawks down the rest of the way.