MANKATO, Minn. --- The Mavericks, ranked twenty-first in the nation, played host to Concordia University Wednesday afternoon for a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference twinbill, with CU taking game one, 17-7 and the Mavericks taking the second, 8-5.
Concordia University jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after a solo homer from freshman J.T. Schneider in the first, followed by a solo shot from freshman Hogan Jackson in the second.
MSU knotted things up in the bottom of the second when junior designated hitter Steven Helget smacked a lead-off triple to right center, his second of the season, then scored on a wild pitch. Junior catcher Aaron Berner tallied MSU’s second score on a throwing error.
The Golden Bears increased their lead to 8-2 after the fourth. Junior Sam Fagley hit a two-run shot in the third, followed by junior Jon Stockton scoring on a wild pitch and senior Brenden Furrow crushing a three-run homer to right center in the fourth.
Minnesota State tallied four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning making the score 8-6. First an RBI double from first baseman Matt Odegaard, followed by RBI singles from freshman outfielder Mike Eckhart and sophomore right fielder Ben Kincaid and a sacrifice fly to left field from senior third baseman Kosuke Hatorri.
CU tallied five more in the fifth and four in the sixth, while the Mavericks managed one more in the bottom of the sixth courtesy of Hattori who hit an RBI single, making the final 17-7.
Senior right handed pitcher Patrick Lenton falls to 6-3 on the year. Lenton pitched three innings, giving up four runs off of five hits, walking one and striking out one.
The Mavericks got off to a fast start in game two, scoring four in the first inning. Hattori scored on a throwing error by the third basemen with Berner reaching first. A double by Kincaid drove in Berner, followed by another double from junior outfielder Danny Miller who drove in Kincaid. Sophomore third basemen Patrick Dockendorf then singled up the middle, sending in Miller.
The second inning saw Berner increase the Mavericks lead to 5-0 after launching his eighth home run of the season, a solo shot, to right center field.
MSU added two more in the fourth. Odegaard scored on a fielder’s choice, followed by Berner hitting a sacrifice fly to center sending freshman outfielder Kyle Svoboda to home plate.
The Golden Bears tallied their first runs of the game in the fifth inning, the first on a scoring error by Hattori, bringing in Stockton. Concordia continued with sophomore Troy DuBay scoring on a passed ball, sophomore Bryan Lippincott scoring on a Schneider sacrifice fly, and a solo home run by Furrow.
In the bottom of the fifth, Helget scored on a heads up play, advancing home on an error by the catcher, giving the Mavericks an 8-4 lead.
In the sixth inning, the Golden Bears would tally the final run of the contest when Fagley scored from second on a Dubey single thru the left side with two outs.
Sophomore right hand pitcher Blake Schwartz improved his record to 8-1 after pitching five innings, giving up five runs, three earned, off of seven hits. The righty walked one and struck out three.
Junior right handed relief pitcher Luke Putz entered the contest in the seventh and recorded his seventh save of the season.
Hattori extends his hitting streak to 16 games after earning one in each game of the doubleheader. Hattori also sits tied for first on MSU’s all-time walks list with 99.
The Mavericks (28-10, 17-5 NSIC) will host the Wayne State Wildcats this weekend for four NSIC contests at MSU Baseball Complex. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.
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To view game one stats, click HERE.
To view game two stats, click HERE.
To view season stats, click HERE.
