Mavs split in Warriors double header

The quest for sweep number six will have to be put on hold, as Minnesota State baseball split another series in a double header against Winona State University. While they still remain at the top of the standings, objects are becoming closer than they appear.

Coming off their latest sweep against Sioux Falls, the Mavs returned home to Bowyer Field for a Wednesday double header with Winona State. The Mavs looked to rebuild momentum with only a few weeks left to go in the regular season. As for the Warriors, they looked to continue their success after snapping their three-game losing streak.

As the Mavs took the field for their first game of the afternoon, windy conditions made it a rather low-scoring game. However, it slowly became another case of the Mavs controlling the situation on both sides of the ball. Jackson Hauge started things off in the second with a homer to center for the Mavs first run of the game.

Entering the fifth, the Warriors finally got on the board and made things challenging for the Mavs. As they proceeded to launch a three-run home run to give the Warriors the lead. 

However, unlike their game against Augustana they chose to find a way back into the fight. As Matthew Fleishhacker singled up the middle for an RBI and Aiden Byrne hit a sacrifice ball out to center to tie the game. In the end, Jackson Hauge hit a single to left field to give the Mavs a 4-3 victory in game one.

Following a short intermission, both sides took the field for the second game of the double header. However, this time around things were frustrating for the Mavs during the contest. While the Warriors opened with a homer to left, the Mavs responded with two RBI singles to make it a 2-1 game in the first. While the Mavs struggled for the next few innings, Ryan Wickman sent a sacrifice fly to center to score an RBI.

During the seventh is when things started to go haywire for the Mavs. The Warriors scored two RBI singles followed by an RBI double to slingshot them ahead by one in a matter of minutes. The Mavs unfortunately were unable to respond the following inning leaving them down late into the game. In the eighth, the Mavs watched as the Warriors sent a homer deep to right center to give them the 5-3 game win and split with the Mavs.

Write to Charlie Groebner at charles.groebner@mnsu.edu

Header Photo: The Minnesota State’s Men’s Baseball team splits the two-game series against Winona State Wednesday afternoon. Redshirt Junior, Jackson Hauge, hit a walk-off single to win game one of the series. (Dylan Engel/The Reporter)