MANKATO, Minn. -- The Minnesota State Maverick baseball team swept a doubleheader against Concordia St. Paul Tuesday at Bowyer Field, winning 6-4 in game one and 11-0 in game two, to remain atop the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference standings.
Now riding a seven-game winning streak, the Mavericks are 27-5 this season with a 20-3 mark in league games for the top spot in the NSIC standings. The Golden Bears fell to 15-20 and 9-14 in the NSIC with the pair of losses.
GAME ONE (7 INNINGS) | Minnesota State 6, Concordia St. Paul 4
Innings one through six belonged to the Mavericks in game one. In the first inning, sophomore outfielder Jackson Hauge launched his sixth home run of the season out to left for three RBI, giving MSU a 3-0 advantage in the first inning.
The Mavericks piled on three more runs during the second and third innings when junior outfielder Ryan Wickman doubled to right to score Mikey Fredrickson one inning before senior first baseman Ross Indlecoffer singled through the left side to drive in a pair in the third inning to put MSU up 6-0.
CSP mounted a rally in the seventh inning and mustered up four total runs, but was held there as junior right-handed reliever Jack Brown locked down the game after coming on to pitch in the midst of the seventh for his first save of the season. After he hit one Golden Bear batter, recorded three-straight groundouts to seal the 6-4 victory.
Earning his fifth win of the season in his second start of the year was senior right-handed pitcher Cam Kline. Kline, now 5-0, pitched six complete shutout innings with five hits against. He struck out six and never surrendered a free pass in the ballgame.
MSU outhit CSP, 9-7, in game one. The Mavericks had two errors in the contest. MSU left more runners on base by a 9-5 margin in the game.
GAME TWO (7 INNINGS) | Minnesota State 11, Concordia St. Paul 0
MSU dominated CSP in game two, winning 11-0 by way of the 10-run rule in the seventh inning. The Mavericks piled the offense on late with one run in the third and fourth innings before surging for four runs in the fifth and another five in the sixth.
On the mound, sophomore left-handed pitcher Nathan Culley made his sixth start and eighth appearance of the season. Now owning a 3-1 record on the year, Culley could not be touched out of the gate in game two. The Andover, Minn., native struck out the side three straight times for nine consecutive strikeouts to open game two. He went on to throw six complete innings with just two hits allowed. He finished off his best outing to date with 15 strikeouts and one free pass.
Leading the way with the bat was sophomore third baseman Adam Schneider. The Altoona, Iowa, native put the Mavericks' first run on the board in game two when he hit his second home run of the season down the rightfield line in the third inning to make it 1-0. He finished the game three-for-four with a team-high three RBI after also recording a pair of RBI singles later on in the game.
In addition, senior catcher Ben Livorsi showed out in game two by batting two-for-three with one RBI on a solo home run in the fifth and a pair of runs after he scored on an error after tripling in the sixth inning.
The Mavericks staved off the Golden Bears with a 9-4 advantage in hits during game two. Errors riddled CSP in the second game, resulting in four unearned runs. Both sides had five runners stranded in the finale.
In its next action, Minnesota State travels to Sioux Falls for a midweek doubleheader. The seven and nine-inning series begins Wednesday, April 27, at 1:30 p.m in Sioux Falls, S.D.
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