Auburndale, Fla. --- Minnesota State baseball scored six runs in the bottom of the third inning and cruised to an 11-3 win over Walsh on Wednesday afternoon.
 
After Walsh (5-2) had scored a single run in the top of the third inning, the Mavericks (5-4) turned a one run deficit into a five run lead with six runs in the bottom half of the frame. Sophomore right fielder Jordan Hart, who extended his hitting streak to three games and led all players with four RBI on the day to put his season total at 11, drove in the first two Minnesota State runs with his fourth double of 2017. Junior first baseman Dylan Dresel, who was the only other Maverick to drive in multiple runs, chased home Hart with a single for his first RBI of the season. After two errors extended the inning – with a run scoring on the first miscue – freshman second baseman Teddy Petersen garnered a sacrifice fly and sophomore left fielder Tyler Berg recorded an RBI double to put the Mavericks up 6-1.
 
Walsh scored single runs in the fifth and seventh innings, but the Mavericks added on two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings, and one more in the sixth. In the fourth, Dresel drove in his second run of the game with a single and junior catcher Noah Bluth tallied his sixth RBI of the season with a sacrifice fly. Hart drove in both runs in the fifth with a two-run single and the Maverick run in the sixth scored on a Cavalier error.
 
The offensive output was more than enough for the Maverick pitching staff. Junior Dalton Roach (1-0) started on the mound and held Walsh to two earned runs on three hits over five innings to earn his first win of the season. Roach, who struck out nine batters for the second consecutive game, leads Minnesota State with 20 strikeouts in 2017. Junior Aaron Rozek fired a scoreless sixth inning with one strikeout and junior Brody Rodning shut the door with a nine-out save – holding Walsh to one run on two hits, while striking out three and walking none.  
 
In the win, senior third baseman Eric Peterson extended his hitting streak to nine games with a single in the third inning. Peterson, who is batting .400 with 12 hits this season, also scored his 173rd career run, which is seven shy of Kosuke Hattori's (2007-10) 180 runs scored and nine shy of the most runs scored in program history – 182 (Eric Lonquist, 1999-2002).
 
Junior centerfielder Josh Wenzel garnered two hits to join Hart and Dresel as the only Mavericks with multiple hits on the day.
 
Aidan Mlachek started on the rubber for Walsh and suffered the loss, surrendering six runs – three earned – on four hits over 2-1/3 innings. Mlachek struck out none and walked two.
 
Minnesota State returns to the diamond for its first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference matchup of 2017 when it faces U-Mary for a weekend series starting at noon on Feb. 18 at MSU Baseball Complex.