BRANDON, S.D. -- The No. 19-rated Minnesota State kicked off the NSIC Baseball Tournament with an explosive 20-4 victory over Minnesota Duluth, Wednesday night at First National Bank Field at Aspen Park.
With the win that snapped a two-game losing streak, the Mavericks improved to 36-7 on the season. The Bulldogs now ride a 22-24 overall record following the loss.
The Mavericks hit the ground running in game one and used a big first inning, which saw them score eight runs on six hits, to ride their way to a first-round victory over the Bulldogs. After senior right-handed pitcher Cam Kline hung a zero against UMD's hitters in the top half of the first inning, he came up in the bottom half with no outs to bat and launched his fifth home run of the season over the scoreboard in left-center to make it 3-0. Then, freshman Aidan Byrne, senior Ben Livorsi and junior Nick Altermatt each recorded base knocks to score at least one run to add to the lead. After one inning of play, the Mavericks led the Bulldogs 8-0.
After Jack Puder doubled to right in the next half inning to score one run, Brodie Paulson hit a two-run home run in the top of the third inning to shrink the deficit to five runs, 8-3. However, that was all UMD could manage through three frames and continued to trail MSU by five runs.
The Mavericks resumed their scoring ways in the bottom half of the third inning, scoring five more runs on four hits. The surge began with senior first baseman Ross Indlecoffer blasting his seventh home run of the season, a solo shot over the fence in center, to increase MSU's lead to six. The charge ended with a three-run home run to center by sophomore outfielder Jackson Hauge that made it a 13-3.
Aside from UMD scoring one more run on a solo home run in the ninth inning, MSU cruised to the finish from there for a 20-4 win after scoring another run in the fourth and piling on six more in the seventh for the dagger. It marked the Mavericks' fourth time scoring 20 or more runs during a contest this season.
On the mound for the Mavericks, Kline improved his record to 8-0 on the season after pitching six innings with nine hits and three runs against. He walked one and struck out nine during his ninth outing on the hill of the year.
The Mavericks outhit the Bulldogs 15-10 in their first game at the tournament. Walks were key in Wednesday's contest, MSU drew 13 while UMD received a pair of free passes. Errors also riddled UMD by a 3-1 margin.
With the victory, MSU will take on the St. Cloud State Huskies next in the NSIC Baseball Tournament at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Ronken Field in Sioux Falls, S.D.
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