St. Louis, Mo. --- Minnesota State split a doubleheader against Maryville on Friday in the 2020 opening series by dropping game one 2-1 in seven innings and winning game two 9-6 in nine innings.
 
Minnesota State (1-1) had the bats wake up in the game two win by collecting 11 hits at Weber Field in St. Louis, Mo.
 
GAME 1 – Maryville 2, Minnesota State 1
 
The Mavericks dropped the 2020 season opener to the Saints in the first game of the Friday doubleheader.

Maryville struck first in the bottom of the first inning, scoring its only two runs of the game. Junior shortstop Dominic Connolly opened the inning with a single against junior right-handed pitcher Cam Kline. Junior first baseman Ben Hopkins brought Connolly around on a double down the right field line. Junior third baseman Austin Tapella singled in Hopkins for the second run in the next at bat.
 
Minnesota State's lone run came in the top of the fourth inning as Kline opened the inning with single and then junior first baseman Carter Elliott followed with a bunt single to put runners on first and second. After a strikeout and a flyout, sophomore catcher Mikey Fredrickson singled to center field to bring around Kline for the run.
 
Elliott led the way offensively going three-for-three at the plate. Senior center fielder Joey Werner, freshman left fielder Hunter Ranweiler, Kline and Fredrickson all picked up a hit as well.
 
Junior right-hander Cam Kline (0-1) went the distance in the loss, allowing two runs on five hits and one walk with eight strikeouts.
 
Senior left-hander Cody Siebenberger (2-1) picked up the complete game win, allowing one run on seven hits with eight strikeouts.

GAME 2 – Minnesota State 9, Maryville 6
 
The Mavericks came back to win game two after scoring three runs in the top of the ninth inning to break the 6-6 tie and earn the doubleheader split.
 
The Mavericks scored the first run in game two in the top of the first inning. Sophomore shortstop Nick Altermatt opened the game with a double down the right field line. Senior second baseman Teddy Petersen and Werner used a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly to bring Altermatt across the plate for the 1-0 lead.
 
The Saints tied the game up with a solo home run by freshman designated hitter Nick Guerra off senior right-handed pitcher Jon Ludwig in the bottom of the second inning.

Minnesota State re-gained the lead in the top of the fourth inning with freshman third baseman Adam Schneider collecting his first collegiate hit. A walk by senior designated hitter Sebastian Holte-Mancera, a single by Ranweiler and a hit by pitch for Fredrickson loaded the bases. Schneider hit the double down the right field line to clear the bases and give the Mavericks a three-run lead.
 
Maryville responded in the bottom half of the fourth inning with two runs to pull within one of MSU. With the bases loaded, junior center fielder Alex Hoff bounced into a fielder's choice that plated Hopkins. Tapella scored the second run on a groundout to first base by sophomore left fielder Jackson Burrell.
 
The Mavericks grew the lead back out to two as Werner tripled to left center field to open the top of the fifth inning and then scored on a wild pitch in the next at bat.
 
The Saints used a three-run bottom of the seventh inning to take a 6-5 lead over Minnesota State. After freshman second baseman Nick Hofmann tripled to open the inning, freshman catcher Hayden Thornton singled to left field to score the first run. Senior right fielder Wyatt Elbe singled to put two runners on and then Maryville took the one-run lead on a double to left center field by Tapella.
 
MSU tied the game back up at six in the next half inning. Junior pinch hitter Ben Livorsi tripled to center field to score senior pinch runner Ty Denzer. Denzer was running for Holte-Mancera who was hit by a pitch earlier in the inning.
 
The Mavericks used three runs in the top of the ninth inning to take the lead and eventually win the game 9-6. With one out, Werner walked and then Kline doubled to center field to bring in the go-ahead run. Elliott followed with a triple to right field that brought Kline in to score and Denzer singled in Elliott for the final run.
 
Elliott had another multi-hit performance by going two-for-five with Altermatt also doing the same to lead the offensive charge. Holte-Mancera reached in all four at bats with one hit, two walks and a hit by pitch. Schneider finished with a team high three RBI.
 
Senior right-hander Jon Ludwig received a no decision after allowing three runs on five hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in five innings. Junior right-hander Trevor Divinski gave up the lead in the seventh inning and allowed three runs on four hits with three strikeouts in two innings of relief. Senior right-hander Hunter Even (1-0) was awarded the win after pitching the final two shutout innings, while walking two batters and striking out three.
 
Senior right-hander Drake Kanallakan also received a no decision after going three and a third innings, giving up four runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Freshman left-hander Jacob Kroeger pitched two and two-thirds innings in relief and surrendered one run on one hit and two walks with three strikeouts. Sophomore right-hander Austin Winter worked a scoreless inning in relief. Junior right-hander Hayden House (0-1) was hit with the loss after allowing four runs on three hits and a walk with one strikeout in an inning and a third. Junior right-hander Isaac Parks came in and pitched the final two-thirds of an inning.
 
Minnesota State and Maryville will conclude the four-game series tomorrow with a doubleheader at Weber Field. Games will start at 11:00 a.m., with the second following at 1:00 p.m.