Cary, N.C. - Minnesota State (51-11) is scheduled for a rematch against Delta State on Friday at 11 a.m., EST (10:00 a.m. CST) after the Mavericks defeated the Statesmen 1-0 Thursday afternoon at the Division II College Baseball World Series.
Fourth Round Recap: A solo home run by junior right fielder Mike Eckhart was the only run scored in the Mavericks 1-0 victory against Delta State as the Mavericks finished the game with three hits, all in the second inning.
The Mavericks' starting pitching was strong once again as sophomore Tyler Ockuly pitched the second complete game for MSU in as many days, earning his seventh win of the season after allowing no runs on six hits while striking out six batters.
Third Round Recap: Sophomore starting pitcher Jason Hoppe struck out 10 batters in MSU's 6-0 victory against Southern New Hampshire Wednesday afternoon as the Mavericks eliminated the Penmen from tournament action.
This time it was Southern New Hampshire who had the fielding miscues as the Penmen defense committed five errors which led to three uneared runs leading the team to its 50th win of the season.
Hoppe's Run: Wednesday's complete game effort by Hoppe was the third of the season for the sophomore righty while he has struck out 36 batters in his last three starts.
In his last three outings, Hoppe has pitched 27 innings while allowing just three walks and three earned runs in three Maverick victories.
Delta State's Journey: The Statesmen of Delta State are 2-1 in tournament action after earning a 4-1 victory in game one against St. Mary's before defeating Catawba, 6-5. The team's only loss at the World Series was yesterday's 1-0 defeat against Minnesota State.
Who's Left?: We're down to three teams left in the World Series as West Chester, which eliminated Catawba Thursday night, joins Delta State and Minnesota State as the final three teams remaining.
West Chester is undefeated in the College Baseball World Series and will have a rest day Friday before playing the winner of Minnesota State and Delta State Saturday at 7 p.m. (EST).
Winning Streak Snapped: Before the Mavericks' 3-2 loss to Southern New Hampshire, Minnesota State had won 12 of its last 13 games including seven in a row. The team's longest winning streak this season was 11 games which lasted from April 17 through April 30.
Moving up the Charts: Senior third baseman Pat Dockendorf set the single-season record for RBI as he now has 60, beating the previous record of 59 held by Jason Pfingsten in 1996.
Senior second baseman Matt Kuchenbecker is now alone in second place with 20 doubles in a single season. Kuchenbecker was previously tied with three others in second place on the school's all-time single season list.
Ockuly's Last Five Games: Ockuly has been a gem on the mound in his last five starts, four coming in the postseason. The righty has allowed 23 hits, two earned runs and has struck out 37 batters in 38.2 innings pitched.
Current Streaks: Freshman Nolan Johnson leads the team with a seven-game hitting streak. Eckhart is the only other Maverick with a hitting streak greater than one game as he is on a four-game hitting streak. Junior Lucas Skjefte has the longest hitting streak this year for the Mavericks at 14 games.
