BEMIDJI, Minn. -- Minnesota State scored 27 runs Saturday afternoon to claim both games of a doubleheader that opened Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action against Bemidji State, 13-0 in game one and 14-8 in game two, to start off the three-game weekend series.
Junior first baseman Ross Indlecoffer and senior outfielder Joey Werner had field days offensively for the Mavericks. Indlecoffer went 2-for-5 with four RBI, four runs and a walk while Werner racked up five RBI and three runs scored during a 4-for-7 afternoon which featured a walk.
GAME ONE (7 INNINGS) | Minnesota State 13, Bemidji State 0
The Mavericks found themselves up one just a couple pitches into Saturday's opener when senior outfielder Werner launched his second home run of the season over the leftfield wall to put MSU up 1-0 in the game's second at bat. Then, after Ben Livorsi roped a ball to right to score Nick Altermatt, junior first baseman Indlecoffer got around on a pitch and lifted it up and over the BSU Baseball Field fence to make it a 4-0 game. That's where it stood after the first frame.
Scoring for MSU continued in the third when Livorsi got on base with a one-out triple that led to Indlecoffer's second home run of the game and made it 6-0. In the next at bat, senior Mitch Frederick made it 7-0 with a back-to-back home run. Senior second baseman Teddy Petersen added another run with a double down the leftfield line that scored Ryan Friedges. In the next at bat, Ty Denzer scored from third on an infield hit to make it 9-0.
The fourth inning saw Denzer hit his second home run as a Maverick. The three-run home run gave MSU a 12-0 advantage.
The Mavericks plated one more run in the sixth before Kyle Nordby came in to work the seventh in relief of Maverick senior Jonathan Ludwig, who earned the win to move to 3-0 in three starts this season, as Nordby held the Beavers scoreless and the MSU moved to 4-1 and 1-0 in the NSIC with a 13-0 win.
For the fifth-straight game, the Mavericks outhit their opponent when they claimed the hits advantage 11-3 over BSU in game one. Bemidji State had three errors while Minnesota State was perfect in the field with no errors.
Ludwig allowed three hits and walked one while shutting out BSU in six complete innings of work. The Maverick senior struck out nine of the 23 batters he faced and now owns 32 srikeouts in 16 innings this season.
For the Beavers, Logan Barrick (0-1) was handed the loss after surrendering nine runs (eight earned) on nine hits. He walked three and struck out three others.
GAME TWO (9 INNINGS) | Minnesota State 14, Bemidji State 11
The Beavers claimed their first lead of the afternoon with four runs on five hits to take a 4-0 lead in the top of the third inning. However, the Mavericks wasted no time in finding a response when Werner launched his first home run of the season, a three-run shot, to shrink the deficit to 4-3 in the bottom half of the inning. Three batters later, Indlecoffer and Adam Schneider had RBI hits to put MSU up one, 5-4.
In the fourth, Werner tied the game by flying out to center deep enough to score Jack Waletich from third. After four innings, the Mavericks were grasping a 6-4 lead over the Beavers.
MSU doubled up on its run total in the fifth with three hits, which included a grand slam home run from Petersen, for six runs. After five innings at the BSU Baseball Field, the Mavericks owned a 12-4 lead over the Beavers.
The sixth inning saw both sides score two more runs with two hits as the Maverick lead moved to 14-6.
The Beavers mounted a comeback in the eighth and scored five runs on five hits to make it a 14-11 ball game. However, that was all that was left of BSU's offensive poise Saturday as the game ended with MSU securing it's fifth win, 14-11.
For the first time in the 2021 season, the Mavericks were outhit by their opponent. Despite having two errors to the Mavericks zero, the Beavers claimed the hits battle 19-11.
On the hill for the Mavericks, Altermatt (1-0) earned his first win of the 2021 campaign in his first-ever start as a Maverick. The right-handed sophomore went five innings while allowing nine hits for four runs. He walked one and struck out six.
Beavers pitcher Parker Borg (0-2) got the loss in game two. After throwing 3.2 innings, he surrendered six runs on six hits, walked two and struck out six.
Tomorrow, MSU and BSU go head-to-head again in the series finale, which has been moved from noon to 11 a.m. in Bemidji.
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