Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Mankato, Minn. --- Tenth-rated Minnesota State surpassed the 30-win mark Tuesday afternoon and finished 20-4 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play as it swept Concordia-St. Paul in a pair of ball games at the MSU Baseball Complex.
 
The Mavericks walked away with an 8-1 win in game one before capturing a 9-0 victory in the second contest.
 
In the first game, sophomore catcher Nolan Johnson gave MSU an early one-run lead in the bottom of the first when he ripped an RBI single past the CU third baseman to plate senior outfielder Scott Lindner. The Mavericks made it a 4-0 advantage in the third when senior second baseman Lucas Skjefte and junior catcher Ben Keller were each hit by a pitch with the bases loaded before junior shortstop Todd Standish picked up an RBI with a sacrifice fly to centerfield.
 
After MSU tallied an unearned run in the fourth, Johnson struck again in the bottom of the fifth stroking a bases clearing three-run double to the warning track in centerfield to give the Purple and Gold an 8-0 cushion that was plenty of support for junior righthander T.J. Larson. Larson scattered six hits and three walks while striking out one and allowing one earned run in 5.2 innings of work to improve to 6-0 on the year. CU scored its lone run on a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the top of the sixth to complete the 8-1 final.
 
Game two was a pitcher’s duel for the first six innings between a pair of freshman righthanders in MSU’s Josh Matheson - who was making his first career start - and CU’s Tyler Brekke. After four scoreless innings, the Mavericks capitalized on a Golden Bear error when Skjefte singled, stole second base and came around to score on a throwing error by the CU first baseman.
 
Matheson - who would earn his first career win - turned the game over the bullpen after six scoreless innings in which he struck out four and allowed only one hit and one walk. Junior righthander Chris Williams came on to fan all six CU batters he faced in the seventh and eighth which allowed MSU to blow the game wide open in the bottom of the eighth.  The Mavericks recorded eight runs in the frame off of five hits and three CU errors, hightlighted by a two-run single from Skjefte, as the contest ended 9-0.
 
Skjefte ended the afternoon three-of-four with three RBI, two runs scored and a pair of stolen bases, while Johnson was four-for-seven with five RBI, a pair of runs scored and a double.
 
Now 31-8 overall and 20-4 in the NSIC, Minnesota State heads to Kirksville, Mo., for a three-game series and its regular-season finale with MIAA-member Truman State beginning with a doubleheader Saturday at 1:00 p.m.