DULUTH, Minn. --- Runs were at a premium when second-rated Minnesota State and Minnesota Duluth met on Saturday at Wade Stadium in Duluth. In Game one, the Mavericks came out on top 4-2 but a home run by UMD pushed the Bulldogs past MSU in game two, 4-3.

MSU plated the first run in game number one after junior Taylor Branstad hit a ball right back up the middle to score senior Kevin Kramer. The Bulldogs came back with a run of their own to tie up the score at one after three innings of play.

In the fourth inning, sophomore Eric Peterson legged out an infield single with two outs and senior Connor McCallum came in to score. But in the bottom of the inning UMD was able to string together a few hits to tie up the score at two.

An RBI single by redshirt freshman Josh Wenzel gave MSU the lead for good in the fifth inning. Peterson tacked on an insurance run in the sixth when he hit an RBI single to score McCallum again.

Senior Nick Veale pitched four innings and allowed five hits and four earned runs and had three strikeouts to move to 2-0 on the year. Junior Peter Gaustad allowed just one hit in two innings of work while junior Dakota Belter struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh to pick up his third save of the year.

Peterson went 3-4 with two RBI while senior Nolan Johnson also tallied three hits to pace the Mavericks offense.

In the second game, the Mavericks and Bulldogs traded runs in the second inning. McCallum singled home Branstad who started off the inning with a double for MSU's first run.

The Bulldogs took the lead for a moment when they tallied two runs in the fifth, but an RBI double by Branstad and an infield RBI single by McCallum in the sixth tied up the score at three.

A home run by UMD's Kyle Comer in the eighth inning proved to be the difference in the game as MSU went down in order in the ninth.

Freshman Brody Rodning pitched five innings and allowed four hits and three earned runs and struck out six batters. Freshman Dalton Roach ended up with the loss after giving up one run and two hits while striking out five.

Minnesota State, which now stands 17-4 overall and 7-3 in the NSIC, will travel to Sioux Falls, S.D. for a doubleheader against Augustana College on Wednesday, April 8. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.