Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Game One Stats

Game Two Stats

MANKATO, Minn. – Minnesota State opened the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference portion of its schedule Saturday afternoon with two wins against Minnesota Duluth.  The Mavericks escaped with a 4-3 victory in game one before breaking out the offense with a 9-2 game-two win.
 
The Bulldogs struck first in game one as third baseman Anders Engberg hit a two-run home run for his first long ball of the season to give UMD the 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
 
After MSU tied the game in the bottom of the first, Minnesota Duluth would recapture the lead in the top of the third as Mike Darley’s RBI single drove in Lucas Steinbach to take the 3-2 lead.
 
The Mavericks would once again tie the game, this time in the third inning, as junior Lucas Skjefte connected on his second home run of the season.  The hit extended his hitting streak to 13 games as he has recorded at least one hit in each game this season.
 
The score would remain 3-3 through the remainder of the scheduled amount of innings before MSU would earn the one-run victory.
 
After MSU loaded the bases on three consecutive walks, senior Matt Odegaard was hit by a pitch to drive in senior Pat Dockendorf for the game-winning run.
 
Junior Lucas Skjefte was the only Maverick to record multiple hits as he finished the game 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
 
Earning his third win this season for MSU was sophomore right-handed pitcher Bryce Bellin who allowed three runs on five hits while striking out five batters in a complete-game effort.
 
In the second game, MSU got out to a fast start scoring five runs in the first inning putting the game away early.
 
Skjefte led the game off with a single to centerfield before senior Matt Kuchenbecker sent a double to right.  Skjefte would score the game’s first run on a single by Dockendorf before Kuchenbecker would cross home plate on a single by senior Jeremy Sudbeck.
 
Freshman Connor McCallum would give the Mavericks a 4-0 lead on a two RBI single which drove in Odegaard and Sudbeck before a single by junior Mike Eckhart scored freshman Nolan Johnson who had earlier reached on a fielder’s choice.
 
MSU would put three more runs on the board in the fourth inning, highlighted by an RBI double by Skjefte and an RBI triple by Dockendorf to give MSU an 8-0 lead.
 
Minnesota Duluth scored its first run in the fifth inning before MSU responded with a single run in the sixth.  The Bulldogs added one more run in the seventh but it wouldn’t be enough as the Mavericks earned the 9-2 victory.
 
Skjefte extended his hit streak to 14 games as he finished the second game 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored.  Kuchenbcker and Dockendorf each finished 2-for-4 as Dockendorf added two RBI.
 
In a complete-game effort, senior right-handed pitcher Harvey Martin picked up his fifth win of the season allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out seven batters.
 
The loss dropped Minnesota Duluth to 5-9 overall and 0-2 in the NSIC.
 
Minnesota State (11-3, 2-0 NSIC) returns to action tomorrow when it wraps up its weekend series against Minnesota Duluth.  Sunday’s doubleheader is slated to begin at noon at the MSU Baseball Complex.