MARSHALL, Minn. – Minnesota State used six runs in the fifth and ninth innings to pull away from Southwest Minnesota State 22-13 Friday afternoon at Legion Field in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball.
 
Every player in the Maverick starting lineup recorded at least one hit for a game total of 21. Zach Stroh led the way with three hits and five runs batted in while Lincoln Berry and Ryan Friedges each posted a pair of hits for four RBI apiece.
 
Friday marked the 22^nd time this season the Purple and Gold vaulted to double figure runs in a single game. MSU has won nine of its last 10 outings.

"It was a great offensive performance throughout our lineup today," said head coach Matt Magers. "We were getting on base and finding ways to score in multiple ways. Our pitchers hung in there and limited the big innings."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After executing a double steal in the bottom of the first, Louis Magers hit a ground ball to score Aiden Byrne from third base for a 1-0 lead. Friedges connected on a 1-1 pitch in the second to make it 3-0 with his fifth home run of the season to left field.
 
SMSU Senior Jaxon Haase answered in the bottom of the second with his fourth homer to centerfield, a solo shot. The Mustangs added another run in the third on Caleb Gardow's home run to left field.
 
The Mavericks made it 4-2 in the fourth. Hunter Ranweiler singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Aiden Byrne grounded out, but Ryan Wickman drove in Ranweiler with an infield single up the middle.
 
The Mustangs tied the game 4-4 in the bottom of the inning with a pair of unearned runs. Gardow collected two more runs batted in on a two-out single to left field.
 
Three straight walks, followed by a wild pitch helped the Mavericks make it 6-4 in the fifth. Then three more runs scored on infield errors at shortstop and third base. Stroh's single over second base made it 10-4 as the Mavericks batted around the order.
 
The Mustangs sent six to the plate in their half of the fifth and scored one. Isaac Nett snagged the right field fence foliage in the sixth, and it was ruled a ground rule double for two runs batted in.
 
The Mavericks loaded the bases with zero outs in the seventh. Ryan Wickman doubled to left for a 12-7 advantage and Stroh drove in two more with a single past outstretched second baseman Kennan Wenzel.
 
SMSU continued to battle back, drawing to 14-10 in the bottom of the seventh before Lincoln Berry blasted a two-run home run to center field for a 16-10 edge.
 
The Mustangs cut the deficit back to four with a sacrifice fly and a single to center field. Then two-run singles by Stroh and Berry in the ninth made it 20-12. Friedges' double to the right center gap added two more and the Mustangs tallied one in a game lasting 3 hours, and 15 minutes.

TOP NUMBERS
Wickman finished 4-for-5 at the plate with three runs driven in. Byrne stole three bases and scored four runs. Sam George tossed 4.0 innings and allowed four runs (two earned) in the start for MSU. The Mavericks used seven pitchers.
 
Ryan Chmielewski threw 4.2 innings for SMSU and surrendered eight runs (six earned) on nine hits.
 
UP NEXT
The Mavericks (33-15, 28-9 NSIC) conclude the regular season with a doubleheader at Southwest Minnesota State (25-21, 19-18 NSIC) Saturday at 1 p.m. Augustana leads the conference standings at 29-6. The Mavericks are currently second, ahead of Minnesota Crookston (32-14, 26-10) and St. Cloud State (31-17, 27-11). The NSIC Tournament begins on Wednesday, May 8 in Mandan or Bismarck, North Dakota.