Box Score St. Cloud, Minn. --- Ninth-ranked Minnesota State used its second straight complete game shutout - this time from junior Jason Hoppe - to best Wayne State College, 7-0, in the second round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament Thursday evening at Dick Putz Field.
 
It was Hoppe’s third straight complete game shutout as the righthander is now riding a 32-inning scoreless streak.
 
For the second night in a row, MSU was locked in a pitcher’s duel as the contest was scoreless through the first four innings. However in the top of the fifth, the Mavericks took advantage of a Wildcat error and a hit batter before collecting their first hit of the evening when junior shortstop Todd Standish smacked an RBI double down the first-base line to plate junior Mike Andries. Junior centerfielder Parker Sullivan followed that with a groundout to the WSC third baseman that scored senior Scott Lindner giving MSU a 2-0 lead halfway through the ball game.
 
The Wildcats threatened in the bottom of the sixth when they loaded the bases after a hit, a walk and a hit batter but junior righthander Jason Hoppe worked out of the jam thanks to a phenomenal defensive play by Standish who dove to his left and flipped to senior second baseman Lucas Skjefte to end the inning.
 
MSU made it a three-run cushion in the top of the seventh with a sacrifice fly from sophomore third baseman Connor McCallum before exploding for four additional runs in the ninth inning to cement the 7-0 victory. Sullivan belted an RBI single up the middle to score Linder from second before McCallum stroked an RBI double to the gap in right-center field. Skjefte capped the inning when he roped a two-run single that dropped in front of the Wildcat leftfielder.
 
Hoppe (7-1) finished with 11 strikeouts while allowing four hits and three walks in nine innings of work. WSC starter junior Michael Frericks (5-3) surrendered three earned runs, three hits and three walks while fanning seven in seven innings on the hill.
 
Sullivan was two-for-four on the night with two RBI, a run scored and a stolen base, while Standish went two-for-three with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Skjefte and McCallum each added a base hit and a pair of RBI.
 
Second-seeded Minnesota State is now 33-8 overall and advances to the NSIC semi-finals where it will face eighth-seeded Bemidji State tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. at Joe Faber Field with a berth in the NSIC championship game on the line.