WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Minnesota State Mavericks (9-1) suffered their first loss of the season in a heartbreaking 8-6 defeat against Ohio Dominican (5-8) on Sunday afternoon at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. 

The Mavericks trailed early as Ohio Dominican took a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Minnesota State responded in the fourth, sparked by a solo home run from Ike Mezzenga. A two-run single from Logan Miller tied the game at 3-3. 

The game remained deadlocked until the bottom of the seventh, when Ohio Dominican pulled ahead 4-3 on an RBI double. However, the Mavericks answered in the eighth as Ben Palmer reached on an error and Zach Stroh delivered an RBI double to even the score once again at 4-4. 

Minnesota State took the lead in the top of the ninth after Matthew Fleischhacker's RBI single and an error by the catcher allowed another run to score, putting the Mavericks up 6-4. 

In the bottom of the ninth, Ohio Dominican rallied. After a leadoff double and a hit-by-pitch, an error loaded the bases. With one swing, CJ Dean crushed a walk-off grand slam to left-center, sealing the Mavericks' fate.  

Minnesota State totaled nine hits in the game, with Miller and Jake Berkland each recording two. On the mound, Spencer Wright (0-1) was charged with the loss. 

The Mavericks will be back in action tomorrow as they continue in the RussMatt Central Invitational and will face Point Park at 2:30 pm CT.