Mankato, Minn. --- Minnesota State baseball extended its winning streak to 17 games with a doubleheader sweep of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opponent Concordia-St. Paul on Wednesday afternoon at MSU Baseball Complex. 
 
Minnesota State (21-4, 16-0 NSIC) won the first game with Concordia-St. Paul (16-12, 10-6 NSIC) 12-2 and the second game 8-2.
 

GAME 1 – Minnesota State 12, Concordia-St. Paul 2
 
The Mavericks jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first inning and did not look back as they won game one 12-2.
 
After Concordia-St. Paul took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, the Mavericks responded with five runs in the bottom half. Freshman second baseman Tommy McDonald punctuated the inning with the first grand slam of his Maverick career. McDonald tied his career high with four RBI in the game.
 
The Mavericks added a single run in the second inning on a solo home run by junior outfielder Josh Wenzel – the reigning NSIC Player of the Week – to go up 6-1.
 
Minnesota State tacked on six more runs in the bottom of the fourth with the help of three Concordia-St. Paul errors to take a 12-1 lead. Junior first baseman Dylan Dresel and freshman left fielder Cody Ulfers each had an RBI single in the inning.    
 
The offense was more than enough for the Maverick pitching staff. Junior right-hander Dalton Roach (5-0) started on the mound – holding the Golden Bears to two runs on four hits over six innings. Roach struck out nine and walked three. Senior left-hander Austin Franzen pitched a scoreless inning to close out the scheduled seven-inning game and secure the Mavericks' 12-2 win.
 
Riley Sweeny (2-1), who started on the mound for the Golden Bears and surrendered six runs – five earned – on four hits in two innings, was on the short end of the decision.
 
GAME 2 – Minnesota State 8, Concordia-St. Paul 2
 
Senior right-hander Mitchell Bauer kept Concordia-St. Paul's offense off-balance for eight innings and Minnesota State won the second game 8-2 to complete the doubleheader sweep.
 
The Mavericks jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Sophomore right fielder Jordan Hart drove in his first-of-four runs on a single, and senior designated hitter Hunter Walsh laced an RBI double in the inning. 
 
After Concordia-St. Paul scored its first run in the second, Minnesota State responded with single runs in the second, fourth and fifth innings, and two runs in the sixth to extend its lead to 8-1.
 
Hart ended the Maverick scoring with a two-run homer – his fourth long ball of the season – in the sixth inning. Senior third baseman Eric Peterson, who scored one of his two runs in the game on the play, is the Mavericks' all-time runs scored leader with 190 career runs scored. Peterson has also reached base in all 25 games in 2017.
 
Bauer (4-0) did the rest on the mound – holding the Golden Bears to five hits and two earned runs over eight innings. Bauer struck out five and walked one. It is the third time in 2017 that Bauer has tossed at least eight innings in a start.
 
Junior left-hander Aaron Rozek worked around two hits to pitch a scoreless ninth as the Mavericks won 8-2.
 
Connor Hurley (2-1) suffered the loss for the Golden Bears – surrendering five earned runs on seven hits in four innings.
 
The Mavericks return to action for a four-game NSIC series at Minot State. Doubleheaders are scheduled for noon on both Saturday and Sunday in Minot, N.D.