MSU baseball wins 14 straight
Despite weather, Mavericks continue to stay hot on the diamond with another set of series sweeps
Kevin Korbel
Staff Writer
The Minnesota State Mavericks baseball club has been on a tear as of late, sweeping their weekend series with Sioux Falls and Bemidji State this past weekend.
In a season in which has led to people having to expect the unexpected, the baseball club has been playing hot, winning their 14th game in a row, and improving their record to 24-7 on the season.
On Thursday, the Mavericks traveled to Sioux Falls, SD for a matchup against the Cougars. This was the first time either team faced-off against each other this season.
The Mavericks got the victory in the first game, after defeating the Cougars, 3-1, in the first game of the series.
After leading 2-0 in the bottom of the 4th inning, the Mavericks let up a run in the inning, to have their lead cut in half.
After the Cougars scored their lone run of the game in the fourth inning, the Mavericks capped off the scoring with a single run in the fifth to make the final score 3-1. Sophomore outfielder Teddy Petersen hit a sacrifice fly to center field and Buck scored on the play.
In game two of the series, it was a total team effort the Mavericks, shutting out the Cougars, 6-0.
While the offense performed well on the day, the story for the Mavericks was the pitching of senior left-handed pitcher Aaron Rozek. Rozek, who didn’t allow a hit until there was one out in the fourth inning, held the Cougars to two singles over eight scoreless innings. He struck out seven, walking four and lowering his season ERA from 1.58 to 1.31.
The Maverick offense scored single runs in each of the first three innings, two in the eighth and one in the ninth to run away with another victory for, at the time, their 12th win in a row.
After taking two games in Sioux Falls, SD, the team hoped to play their first home game of the season against Bemidji State last Saturday; but unfortunately, due to poor weather conditions, the game was moved to Crookston, MN yesterday.
In the first game of a doubleheader for the club, the Mavericks defeated the Beavers 5-1 on the day.
The story of the game was again the play of the starting pitching core. Senior right-handed pitcher Quinn Ahern pitched six innings, giving up no earned runs, with five strike outs on the day for Ahern.
When the Mavericks needed offense the most, they received offense from all parts of the order, from centerfielder Josh Wenzel hitting a solo homerun in the third inning, to first baseman Ty Buck hitting a two run swing up the middle to increase the lead at that point to 4-1 over the Beavers.
Pitcher Bobby Gauvreau shut down the Beavers in the last half of the inning to close out the game for the Mavericks.
In the last game of the double header, the Mavericks defeated the Beavers 8-4 in the afternoon matchup.
Josh Wenzel was on fire during the game for the Mavericks, going 4-for-4 with four RBI’s and a run on the day.
Starting pitcher Trevor Divinski also put on a clinic for the Mavericks, pitching five innings and throwing ten strikeouts on the day for the Mavericks.
The Mavericks ended up cruising in this game after pitcher Carlo Graffeo pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth inning to seal the win for the Mavericks.
After this win, the Mavericks have now won 14 games in a row, while winning 20 of their last 23 games of the season.
Up next, the Mavericks will play the Northern State Wolves in a doubleheader on Wednesday in Aberdeen, SD. The Mavericks hope to stay undefeated, leading up to their home game on April 28th.