Mavericks leave Beavers in the dust
It is often said that to truly succeed in sports, you need to get punched in the mouth and humbled. After having their streak ended, Minnesota State baseball chose to take that loss very personally going into last Tuesday’s doubleheader matchup against Bemidji State.
Once again having to play in neutral territory due to the weather, the Mavs took a road trip across the southern border to play the Beavers. Entering the first game of the day, the Mavs dominated their opponent on both sides of the ball.
Entering the bottom of the third inning, the Mavs capitalized off careless mistakes from the opposing pitchers. Three wild pitches and a walk from sophomore Derek Hoffman allowed the Mavs to jump out to a 4-0 lead.
However, things immediately went from bad to worse for the Beavers. In the Bottom of the fourth, the Mavs ran the table with an RBI single, two RBI doubles and two homers to give them a score of 11-0 after being retired. Their warpath continued as they added another RBI or a fly ball, a double and another homerun to sit with a massive lead. While the Beavers broke up their cold streak with a single run to make it a 17-1 game, it was not enough to recover from the game.
After a short rest period, the Mavs were not finished with sending their message to other teams in the conference. The second inning saw the Mavs launch homers and singles all over the field of play. Generating a total of fourteen runs alone before they were even halfway through the second game of the day.
When the side was finally retired by the Beavers, the Mavs started to cool off for the next few innings. It wasn’t until the fifth when the Mavs got back to extending their enormous lead. The fifth inning saw freshman Louis Magers single to right to send freshman Tanner Thompson home, extending their lead to 16-0 as they entered the halfway mark in the contest. The sixth inning saw sophomore Ryan Bachman homer to center field and freshman Cole Ranweiler launch a double to left field to give the Mavs an 18-0 lead entering the final inning.
The Beavers, desperate for runs, tried their best to make the most out of the final inning. However, all they were able to make happen was an RBI off a fielder’s choice and a final homer to conclude with a final score of 18-4.
Not only did the Mavs sweep the Beavers once again, but they set a record in the rivalry’s history. The last time the Mavericks scored 35 runs in a doubleheader was against Bemidji, after scoring a combined 51 runs on April 11th, 2015.
Write to Charlie Groebner at Charles.Groebner@mnsu.edu
Header Photo: The MSU Men’s Baseball team returns home after defeating Bemidji State Tuesday, March 28, in a double-header victory with the first game score of 17-1 and the second game at 18-4, ending after seven innings. (File)