Baseball cruises past SMSU, eye Northern State Wolves
After inclement weather forced the Minnesota State University, Mankato baseball team with a schedule change for the second straight week, they were still able to stay focused and defeat Southwest Minnesota State in an afternoon doubleheader yesterday. The Mavericks swept the Mustangs with a convincing 13-1 win in game one and a 6-2 win in game two.
Senior Cam Kline got the start for the Mavs in game one and earned his third win of the season. The Stacy, Minn. native let up only one run and four hits in his six innings pitched while tallying eight strikeouts in the process. Sophomore infielder Jackson Hauge contributed on the Mavericks’ first three runs of the game. Hauge started the scoring in the first inning with a two-run RBI single to left field and then added another marker in the third to give the Mavs a 3-0 lead.
The Mavericks’ bats wouldn’t stop there as they exploded for a four-run fourth inning to grab a commanding 7-0 lead. The Mustangs would finally get on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning when sophomore infielder Jaxon Haase went the distance for a solo homerun which cut the lead to 7-1.
MSU would answer back in the seventh with five runs of their own which were highlighted by junior infielder and pitcher Nick Altermatt’s 10th home run of the season. The Mavs would go on to win the game by a 13-1 final.
The Mavericks and Mustangs would have a short break before returning to the field for game two of their doubleheader. Minnesota State’s bats continued to be hot from game one as they scored three runs in the first inning. SMSU would answer in the second inning, however, as freshman infielder Owen Latendresse brought the game to 3-1 off a solo homerun. The Mustangs would bring the game to within one run in the third as junior infielder Keenan Wenzel tallied an RBI single to right field.
Kline brought the Mavericks’ lead back to two runs in the fifth inning with an RBI single up the left side. The Mavs would add two more runs in the final four innings, beating the Mustangs by a 6-2 final.
The Mavericks will be back in action this weekend as they take on the Northern State Wolves for a three-game weekend series in Aberdeen, S.D. The Wolves come into this weekend’s series with a 9-11 overall record and 4-3 record in Northern Sun intercollegiate conference play.
Junior outfielder Karson Hesser leads the Wolves’ batting this season with a .317 batting average. The Wahoo, Neb. native also holds nine runs off of 20 hits this season including one home run.
On the mound, sophomore Max Otto leads the Wolves this season with a 2.43 earned run average. Otto also owns a convincing 5-1 record on the season and has let up 33 hits in 37 innings pitched so far.
The Mavericks and Wolves will take part in a doubleheader April 9 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. They will then return to action the next day for a series finale at 12 p.m.
Header Photo: Junior pitcher Nick Altermatt (right) has led the Mavericks’ bats this season, averaging a .461 batting average to go along with 10 home runs. (Dylan Engel/The Reporter)
Write to Karson Buelow at karson.buelow@mnsu.edu.