WAYNE, Neb. -- Rated No. 16 in the last edition of the NCBWA DII Top 25 Poll, the Minnesota State baseball team swept Wayne State, 9-4 and 11-2, in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Baseball doubleheader Tuesday afternoon at Pete Chapman Baseball Complex.
Riding a season-high 14-game winning streak, the Mavericks are 34-5 this season with a 27-3 mark in league games for the top spot in the NSIC standings. The Wildcats are now 17-25 and 11-17 in the NSIC with the losses.
GAME ONE (7 Innings) | Minnesota State 9, Wayne State 4
The Mavericks saw another hot start when they scored a pair of runs in the first inning of Tuesday's game against the Wildcats. Ryan Wickman scored the first run on a wild pitch before Jackson Hauge drove in the second on a single knocked to right. After WSC's Andrew Hanson hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the first to plate one run, the Mavericks found themselves leading the Wildcats 2-1.
In the third inning, Mikey Gottschalk's groundout to second base was enough to extend the Mavericks' lead to 3-1 as Wickman scored on the play from third.
The fourth frame saw MSU put up three more runs to extend the lead to 6-1. Ben Livorsi scored the final run with a solo home run to right, which marked his seventh home run of the season and put MSU up 6-1.
The Mavericks extended their lead to seven in the fifth inning thanks to an RBI double to center by Cam Kline as well as an RBI groundout to the shortstop by Aidan Byrne. MSU led WSC 8-1 after five innings of play.
The Wildcats mounted a sixth-inning rally and scored two runs to come within five of the Mavericks, 8-3, thanks to a two-run single to left by WSC's Kyler Essink in the sixth inning. After MSU scored one more run thanks to an RBI double down the leftfield line by Byrne, WSC scored one last run off a double from Colin Lynam's bat in the seventh. The Mavericks then held on there to defeat the Wildcats 9-4 in game one of the doubleheader.
Toeing the slab for the Purple and Gold in the first game was right-handed pitcher Brendan Knoll, who now stands 8-1 on the year after picking up the win. Knoll pitched into two batters into the sixth inning before being relieved. He allowed two hits and three runs in the contest while walking and striking out five along the way. In relief of Knoll, Jack Brown took the ball and got the three outs needed in the sixth before finishing the game outright with five hits and a run against while having a pair of strikeouts.
MSU had the upper hand in hits, 9-7, during the first game despite having one more error as well by a 2-1 margin. WSC left four more runners on base in the game with nine in the contest.
GAME TWO (9 Innings) | Minnesota State 11, Wayne State 2
Hauge opened the scoring for MSU in the second inning of game two when hit his ninth home run of the season down the leftfield line to give the Mavericks a 1-0 lead. In the bottom half of the second, the Wildcats tied the game, 1-1, when Travis Baily hit an RBI double to left. After two innings of action in the finale, MSU and WSC were tied 1-1.
After Gottschalk singled to give the Mavericks a 2-1 lead in the third inning, Indlecoffer singled to left in the fourth frame and drove in the eventual game-winning run. MSU scored another pair of runs in the fourth thanks to Wickman drawing a bases-loaded walk and Altermatt's sacrifice fly to right. After four innings, the Mavericks led the Wildcats 5-1.
The Mavericks piled on six more runs the rest of the way before the Wildcats managed to plate one more run in the eighth inning. MSU held them there to pick up an 11-2 victory to improve to a season-high 14th consecutive win.
Starting on the hill for the MSU in game two was right-handed pitcher Nick Altermatt, who improved to a perfect 9-0 in his ninth start of the season. He pitched six complete innings where he was hit off four times and surrendered one run. While never issuing a walk, he struck out nine opposing hitters.
The Mavericks outhit the Wildcats 18-6 in the second game. WSC had the lone error in the contest while MSU left more runners on base by an 11-8 margin
The Mavericks return home for their final games of the regular season this weekend. The No. 1 (Minnesota State) and No. 2 (Augustana) teams in the NSIC baseball standings go head-to-head at Bowyer Field when the Mavericks play host to the Vikings. The series begins with Senior Day Friday at Bowyer Field and a seven and nine-inning doubleheader on the agenda and concludes Saturday with Alumni Day and a noon first pitch for the nine-inning finale.
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