St. Paul, Minn. – Minnesota State returned to the winning column Wednesday afternoon, defeating Concordia University in a pair of NSIC contests in St. Paul, Minn. The Mavericks defeated the Golden Bears 11-1 in game one, then 12-2 in second contest.
Minnesota State jumped out to a 3-0 lead after a three-run third inning of game one.
Senior infielder Aaron Berner reached on an error, while sophomore outfielder Mike Eckhart singled. Both scored on a two-run single from junior infielder Matt Kuchenbecker. Senior left-handed pitcher Danny Miller tallied a RBI single to add to MSU’s lead.
Kuchenbecker added two more in the fourth for MSU with his second two-run single of the afternoon, which scored Berner and senior infielder Zach Rowles who had singled earlier in the inning.
In the fourth, Concordia scored their first and only run of the contest, a solo blast to leftfield off the bat of junior infielder Bryan Lippincott.
The Mavericks would get their run back and then some when Berner was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, Rowles hit an RBI, followed up by Kuchenbecker hitting his third two-run single of the game, putting the Mavericks up, 9-1.
Junior outfielder Ben Kincaid added a tenth run for MSU, followed up by Kuchenbecker hitting a sacrifice fly for his seventh run batted in of the game, giving Minnesota State the 11-1 win.
The Mavericks out hit the Golden Bears 13-4 in the 11-1 win.
Kuchenbecker led MSU at the plate going 3-for-4, all singles, with seven RBI. The seven RBI is a career best for Kuchenbecker and is the most any Maverick has hit this season.
Miller improves to 5-1 on the season after giving up one run in six innings pitched, walking one and fanning five. Sophomore righty Jordan Krause pitched a scoreless seventh for the Mavericks.
In the second game, MSU jumped out to a 1-0 in the second courtesy of a RBI double hit by Rowles. MSU added two more in the third when Berner hit a two-run double, scoring junior infielder Pat Dockendorf and Miller who previously earned hits.
The Mavericks pulled away in the fifth and sixth innings, racking up a total of nine runs to push their lead to 12-0. Miller tagged a RBI double in the fifth, followed up by Berner ripping a two-run single to right center. The sixth was highlighted by a two-run bomb to leftfield off the bat of sophomore designated hitter Lucas Skjefte.
The Golden Bears would score a pair of runs in the sixth inning, but that was not enough to avoid the 10-run rule, as MSU would win 12-2 in seven innings.
The Mavericks would out hit CU 14-7 in game two.
Berner finished the game 3-for-4 at the plate including a double and four RBI to lead MSU at the plate.
Junior right-handed pitcher Blake Schwartz improved his record to 5-1 on the season, giving up two runs (one earned) on seven hits in six innings, walking none and sitting nine down on strikes. Freshman pitch Bryce Bellin pitched a scoreless ninth, striking out one.
The Mavericks (12-8, 7-1 NSIC) will resume conference play with a pair of doubleheaders in Duluth, Minn. against Minnesota Duluth this weekend.
-30-
