SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Rated 13th in last week's NCBWA Division II Poll, Minnesota State (35-7) defeated Minnesota Crookston (25-11) 15-9 to open the second round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Baseball Tournament in Sioux Falls on a winning note, Wednesday.
Seniors Teddy Petersen and Ty Denzer each supplied a big game for MSU, Wednesday. Petersen hit his seventh home run of the season in the form of a three-run shot in the second inning that kicked off a six-run two-out rally. Denzer hit a grand slam in the seventh to cap a 3-for-5 afternoon with a pair of doubles and six RBI.
Freshman third baseman Adam Schneider got the Mavericks' scoring started in the opening inning with a bloop single to left that scored Ross Indlecoffer, who scored from second after hitting a double in the previous at bat. After one inning, MSU owned a 1-0 advantage over UMC.
The Mavericks broke things open with a two-out rally in the second that saw six runs come across. Petersen had the biggest hit; his seventh home run of the season was a three-run homer to right field off the scoreboard at Karras Park. After a wild pitch scored Joey Werner to add another, Denzer lined a double to left to score another pair and made it a 7-0 game.
An error in the outfield during the fourth inning for MSU allowed a pair of UMC runs to score which shrunk the Mavericks lead to 7-2.
The Golden Eagles scored again in the sixth with back-to-back RBI hits including a double from Scott Finberg and a single from Jake Hjelle that scored Finberg. Hjelle scored later in the inning on an RBI single through the right side that was hit by Ben Bryant to make it a 7-5 game in the sixth inning.
MSU added an insurance run with help from a UMC throwing error in the seventh inning. After the Golden Eagles' second baseman airmailed a throw, everyone was safe. Meanwhile, freshman shortstop Jack Friedges put on a show of aggressive baserunning as he scored from second on the routine infield play. Denzer continued to have a day a couple of batters later when he hit his third home run of the season which was a grand slam that made it a 12-5 game.
In the eighth, Werner proved his worth as the NSIC Player of the Year by hitting his 11th home run of the season. It was a three-run no doubter that put MSU up 15-5.
UMC rallied for four runs with a pair of home runs in the ninth, but it wasn't enough as MSU eventually locked it down to advance in the tournament with a 15-9 win.
The hits battle finished in favor of MSU 13-11 while both sides had two errors.
The Mavericks' starting pitcher for the first game of the NSIC Tournament double-elimination round was sophomore right-handed pitcher Nick Altermatt who is now rocking a 5-1 record this season. Altermatt pitched 5.2 innings and gave up five hits for five runs (four earned). He struck out eight while walking a pair en route to his fifth win in his eighth start of the season. In relief, senior right-handed pitcher Jon Ludwig took over on the mound to help MSU escape a jam in the sixth. He went on to work through the eighth, finishing the afternoon throwing 2.1 innings and giving up a pair of hits, allowing no runs, walking one and striking out five.
For the Golden Eagles, Jake Dykhoff was their starting arm and fell to a 5-1 record with his first loss of the season. The right-hander finished the second inning after allowing seven runs (one earned). He was hit off six times while walking and striking out a pair.
In its next contest, Minnesota State will take on Augustana in the semifinals of the NSIC Baseball Tournament Thursday at 3:00 p.m.
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