MANDAN, N.D. – Redshirt junior Mitch Gutknecht (Stillwater, Minnesota) struck out 14 and notched his first career complete game to help No. 2 seed Minnesota State over No. 7 seed UMary 5-1 Wednesday evening at BNC Field. Gutknecht limited the Marauders to four hits, walked one and threw 115 pitches.
 
The Mavericks (35-16, 29-10) moved forward in the double-elimination NSIC Tournament and will play Thursday at 3:30 p.m. at BNC Field against Southwest Minnesota State (6-0 winners over Minnesota Crookston in round one).
 
The Mavericks broke the tie in the bottom of the second inning. Ryan Friedges doubled, then scored from third on a passed ball.
 
Friedges added his sixth home run of the year in the fourth, a two-run shot after Matthew Fleischacker led off with a single through the left side. The rally continued when Lincoln Berry singled and scored on Hunter Ranweiler's base hit. Zach Stroh singled in Ranweiler as the Mavericks assembled a 5-0 advantage.
 
Gutknecht continued to roll with 10 strikeouts through the first five innings. Dylan Edmands smacked a solo home run to right center field for the Marauder's only run in the eighth. Gutknecht had allowed just two hits to that point. Daniel Martin added a double to right and advanced to third on a ground ball but the left-hander got Kalem Haney on a lineout to short to complete the inning.
 
Gutknecht faced just three men in the ninth, punctuated by two more strikeouts.
 
"Outstanding pitching performance by Mitch (Gutknecht)," said head coach Matt Magers. "To come up with our first complete game of the season in this type of environment is a true sign of his competitive nature. Offensively, Ryan (Friedges) was a spark with two solid at bats, including the deep shot to left."
 
Friedges finished 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs batted in and two runs scored. The Mavericks accumulated 13 total hits and committed zero errors. Byrne, Stroh, Ranweiler, and Ryan Wickman also posted multi-hit games.
 
UMary starting pitcher Lukas Frers (3-6) suffered the loss after 4.0 innings and five runs (all earned) allowed on 11 hits. He struck out four. The Mavericks have won three of five against the Marauders this season.
 
UMary plays Minnesota Crookston in an elimination game Thursday at 12 p.m. at Bismarck Municipal Ballpark.