FAYETTE, Iowa -- Ranked 25th in this week's NCBWA Division II Poll, Minnesota State (22-4, 18-3 NSIC) swept another doubleheader at Upper Iowa (11-15, 9-11 NSIC) in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and non-conference action, Sunday.
The Mavericks upended the Peacocks 5-1 in their first game, a conference tilt, before routing UIU 12-6 in game two, which was a non-conference bout.
GAME ONE (9 INNINGS) | Minnesota State 5, Upper Iowa 1
MSU was on the board first in game one, Sunday. Freshman infielder Mikey Gottschalk's fielder's choice groundout in the second put the Mavericks up 1-0 when it allowed Cam Kline to score from second. Junior outfielder Jack Waletich added an insurance run to follow it up when he singled to center and scored Hunter Ranweiler.
In the fourth, Waletich struck again with a solo home run to right-center. The Fairmont, Minn., native's second home run of the season extended the Mavericks' lead to 3-0.
MSU kept it going in the fifth when catcher Ben Livorsi doubled to centerfield and scored Nick Altermatt. After five innings in Fayette, the Mavericks had a 4-0 lead.
The sixth inning saw senior infielder Teddy Petersen add an RBI to his line when he singled to center and scored Carter Elliott to make it a 5-0 ballgame.
UIU broke the shutout in the ninth with an RBI single, the game ultimately finished with MSU on top 5-1.
The Mavericks claimed the hits battle 10-5. Both sides finished game one with an error.
On the mound for the Mavericks, junior right-handed pitcher Brendan Knoll, now 4-0 this season, got the win. Knoll worked six complete innings allowing three hits and striking out six batters. In relief, Nathan Culley pitched the seventh and eighth innings while maintaining the shutout and not surrendering a hit. Culley struck out three of the six UIU batters he faced.
For the Peacocks, Blake Thiesse (2-3) pitched five innings en route to the loss. He allowed eight hits for four runs, walked one and struck out three.
GAME TWO (7 INNINGS) | Minnesota State 12, Upper Iowa 6
Again, game two saw the Mavericks hit the ground running. In the first, freshman Adam Schneider doubled down the rightfield line to score Petersen. Then, junior Ross Indlecoffer flew out deep enough to score Ranweiler on a sacrifice fly from third. Before the rally could conclude, senior outfielder Ty Denzer homered to left to score two more. After the first inning, MSU was up 4-0.
Then, MSU and UIU took turns scoring third-inning runs. In the top half, Mikey Fredrickson hit his first career home run, a three-run shot, to make it a 7-0 game. In the bottom half, UIU scored a pair on an RBI single via A.J. Friedrich. After three innings, MSU led 7-2.
MSU saw its five-run lead shrink to four in the fifth. After Ranweiler singled and Schneider doubled for a pair of runs, UIU's Nolan Drill hit a bases-clearing triple to make it a 9-5 game.
Scoring wrapped up in an explosive sixth inning that saw MSU outscore UIU three runs to one. Waletich provided the first pair of runs with a fielder's choice knock before scoring on a wild pitch later in the inning. UIU responded in the bottom half with an RBI single that concluded scoring. The Mavericks held on to win 12-6, extending its win streak to five games.
The hits battle finished in favor of MSU, 13-12. The Mavericks were also perfect in the field during the second game while committing zero errors, the Peacocks finished with a pair of defensive miscues.
Altermatt, now 3-0 this season, got the call for game two and pitched two innings. While posting a pair of shutout innings, Altermatt allowed two hits and struck out two others.
The Peacocks' starting arm Jason Katz (0-1) also pitched two innings in his start. Katz gave up five hits for four runs, walked one and struck out another.
Minnesota State is back in action next weekend at Wayne State to take on the Wildcats in Wayne, Neb. The three-game series begins with a 7/9-inning doubleheader starting at 1:30 p.m., Saturday.
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