For Immediate Release
Monday, May 14, 2012
NSIC Media Relations
Full PDF Release
NSIC Tournament Bracket
Minnesota State Wins NSIC Tournament
Will Host NCAA Central Region Tournament
MANKATO, Minn. – Minnesota State won the 2012 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball tournament Saturday afternoon as the top-seeded Mavericks knocked off the second-seeded St. Cloud State Huskies by a score of 11-6 at Franklin Rogers Park.
Already crowned the regular-season champions of the conference, Minnesota State needed to beat St. Cloud State twice Saturday to claim the post-season double-elimination tournament. However, the Mavericks proved to be successful as they knocked off the Huskies, 9-7 earlier in the day before winning the final contest of the tournament.
St. Cloud State got the scoring going early in the second game, putting a pair of runs on the board in the top of the first as two Huskies scored on wild pitches by starting pitcher junior Nick Sutherland to capture the early lead.
MSU matched St. Cloud State’s run production in the first inning as the Mavericks tied the score at two as senior Matt Odegaard connected on a two-RBI single up the middle bringing home seniors Matt Kuchenbecker and Pat Dockendorf.
The Mavericks broke the 2-2 tie in the second inning as junior Lucas Skjefte drove in senior Jeremy Sudbeck with a sacrifice fly before Dockendorf cleared the bases with a two-run home run and extending the lead to 5-2. The homer was Dockendorf’s team-leading ninth of the season.
After a scoreless third and fourth innings, SCSU cut the lead to one in the fifth courtesy of a two-run home run by Joey Benke before MSU extended the lead back to two in the sixth inning after an RBI double down the right-field line by freshman Nolan Johnson.
The Huskies would once again even the score in the seventh inning as Sean Borman’s two-run homer tied the score at six.
The tied score wouldn’t last through the inning, however, as Minnesota State used back-to-back home runs over the left-field wall by junior Mike Eckhart and Odegaard to retake the 8-6 lead.
MSU added three more runs in the inning as Skjefte drew a bases-loaded walk, Kuckenbecker was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Dockendorf recorded a sacrifice fly as MSU took an 11-6 lead.
The Mavericks held the lead from this point as senior right-handed pitcher Harvey Martin pitched the final two innings in relief for Sutherland and allowed no runs on just one hit while striking out two batters.
Sutherland earned his fifth with of the season despite allowing six earned runs on eight hits in seven innings of work.
The Mavericks were led offensively by Johnson who finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Also recording multiple hits for MSU were Kincaid and Odegaard who each went 2-for-5 while Odegaard and Dockendorf each added three RBI.
Six Mavericks were also named to the 2012 All-NSIC Tournament Team including Kuchenbecker, Dockendorf, freshman Connor McCallum, Eckhart, Sudbeck and sophomore Jason Hoppe.
Eckhart was also named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after leading the Mavericks with a .480 batting average going 12-for-25 in the team’s six games played. Eckhart also added eight runs scored, two home runs and six RBI while slugging .800 with a .536 on-base percentage.
Minnesota State (44-10) earns an automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Division II tournament with the conference championship and will learn its postseason plans Sunday at 9 p.m., as the NCAA tournament field and sites are announced at www.ncaa.com.
2012 NSIC All-Tournament Team
Catcher - Mike Jurgella, St. Cloud State
1b - Joey Benke, St. Cloud State
2b - Matt Kuchenbecker, Minnesota State
3b - Patrick Dockendorf, Minnesota State
SS - Connor McCallum, Minnesota State
OF - Derek Wojcik, Winona State
OF - Garrett Fischer, St. Cloud State
OF - Mike Eckhart, Minnesota State
DH - Jeremy Sudbeck, Minnesota State
P - Casey Jacobson, Augustana
P - Jason Hoppe, Minnesota State
MVP - Mike Eckhart, Minnesota State
Last Week’s Games
5/7 Viterbo 4 at Winona State 14
NSIC Baseball Tournament - Mankato, Minn.
5/9 St. Cloud State 6 vs Augustana 4
5/9 Wayne State 1 vs Winona State 2
5/9 Minnesota Duluth 5 at Minnesota State 6
5/10 Minnesota Duluth 1 vs Augustana 3
5/10 Wayne State 5 at Minnesota State 7
5/10 St. Cloud State 3 vs Winona State 2
5/11 St. Cloud State 3 Vs Minnesota State 2
5/11 Augustana 7 vs Winona State 4
5/11 Augustana 1 at Minnesota State 10
5/12 St. Cloud State 7 at Minnesota State 9
5/12 St. Cloud State 6 at Minnesota State 11
Upcoming Games
NCAA Central Region Tournament - Mankato, Minn.
5/17 Colorado Mesa vs. New Mexico Highlands12:00 pm
5/17 St. Cloud State vs Winona State3:30 pm
5/17 Regis at Minnesota State 7:00 pm
Double Elimination Format
Augustana
Augustana went 2-2 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament, finishing the season 32-21 overall. The Vikings fell to St. Cloud State 6-4 to open action at the tournament, and followed their loss with two-straight wins over Minnesota Duluth (3-1) and Winona State (7-4). Minnesota State sent Augustana home with a 10-1 victory over the Vikings.
Minnesota Duluth
The University of Minnesota Duluth baseball team saw it’s season come to an end after a pair of losses at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament in Mankato. Cody Aasen led the Bulldogs at the plate, going 6-for-9 at the plate while scoring two runs in postseason play. Tyler Blomberg came in for six innings of relief against Augustana and picked up eight strikeouts in UMD’s 3-1 loss in the loser’s bracket to the Vikings. The Bulldogs 2012 record finished at 24-27 as they made the conference tournament for the third straight season.
Minnesota State
Minnesota State (44-10) won the 2012 NSIC baseball tournament on Saturday, May 12 as the top-seeded Mavericks knocked off the second-seeded St. Cloud State Huskies by a score of 11-6...Already crowned the regular-season champions of the conference, MSU needed to beat SCSU twice to claim the post-season double-elimination tournament...However, the Mavericks proved to be successful as they knocked off the Huskies, 9-7 earlier in the day before winning the final contest of the tournament...MSU opened the tournament against sixth-seeded Minnesota Duluth and escaped with a 6-5 victory despite a late comeback attempt by the Bulldogs...The hightlight of the game came on the last play as senior Matt Odegaard chased down a throwing error and proceeded to throw out the potential game-tying run at the plate to end the game...The following day, Minnesota State earned a 7-5 win over Wayne State as the Mavericks were able to survive despite allowing the Wildcats to load the bases in each of the last three innings...The next game would come against St. Cloud State and be the only loss the Mavericks would suffer in the tournament as they fell 3-2...MSU trailed 3-1 going into the ninth but would fall short scoring just one run as the Mavericks left two runners on base in the final inning...Later that night, the Mavericks would earn the right to play in the final day of the tournament as they knocked Augustana out with a 10-1 victory behind 17 strikeouts from sophomore Jason Hoppe...Hoppe was strong throughout the game as he recorded five strikeouts to end the game and retired the final 11 batters he faced...In the final day of the tournament, MSU earned a chance to play SCSU twice as the Mavericks won a back-and-forth 9-7 contest against the Huskies in the first game of the afternoon...The teams were knotted at seven through six innings before Odegaard would give MSU a one-run lead in the top of the seventh as his sacrifice fly brought in senior Ben Kincaid to take an 8-7 lead...The Mavericks would add their ninth and final run in the following inning on an RBI single by senior Matt Kuchenbecker which sealed the win and ensured MSU a chance to play St. Cloud once more in the afternoon to determine the NSIC baseball tournament champion...Six Mavericks were named to the 2012 All-NSIC Tournament Team including second baseman Matt Kuchenbecker, third baseman Pat Dockendorf, shortstop Connor McCallum, outfielder Mike Eckhart, designated hitter Jeremy Sudbeck and sophomore right-handed pitcher Jason Hoppe...Junior outfielder Mike Eckhart was also named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after leading the Mavericks with a .480 batting average going 12-for-25 in the team’s six games played...Eckhart added eight runs scored, two home runs and six RBI while slugging .800 with a .536 on-base percentage.
St. Cloud State
The St. Cloud State University baseball team (45-12) will be making its third consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II Central Region tournament. The #2 seeded Huskies will open Central Region tournament play on Thursday, May 17 with a first round match against #5 seed Winona State (29-20) at Franklin Rogers Field in Mankato, Minn…the Huskies will be facing a familiar first round opponent in Winona State at the NCAA regional. SCSU is 4-1 this season against the Warriors and most recently charted a 3-2 win over Winona State in Mankato at the recently completed NSIC tournament…this will mark SCSU’s fifth NCAA tournament bid. The Huskies have earned NCAA tournament bids in 2012, 2011, 2010, 1991 and 1971…SCSU also earned trips to the NAIA nationals in 1969 (3rd place) and 1958 (3rd place)…SCSU hosted regional play in 2011 and charted a 1-2 record, while finishing as the Central Region runner-up at Farmington, N.M. in 2010…the Huskies are 45-12 this season, and they broke the old team record of 43 wins in a season on May 10 with their win over Winona State…the losses to MSU on May 12 in the final day of NSIC play snapped a 20-game win streak for the Huskies, which is also a new team record…Logan Birr broke a team record on May 9 with his win over Augustana in game one of the NSIC tournament. Birr is now 10-0 this season, which is a new team record for wins in a season…SCSU has 102 stolen bases this season, which broke the old team record of 94 stolen bases set in 2010…Joey Benke now owns the team records for career hits (252), doubles (61) and triples (16).
Wayne State
Wayne State scored four runs in the final two innings but the rally fell just short as the Wildcats suffered a 7-5 loss to #5 Minnesota State at the Northern Sun Conference Baseball Tournament played at Franklin Rodgers Park in Mankato, Minnesota Thursday afternoon. The loss eliminates WSC from the double-elimination tournament with a 32-18 record while NSIC regular season champion Minnesota State remains unbeaten in the NSIC Tournament and is now 41-9 overall this season.
Winona State
The Winona State baseball team will make its third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament when it takes on St. Cloud State Thursday in the opening round. The Warriors are 29-20 entering the regional and one win away from the team’s third consecutive 30-victory season. The Warriors went 1-2 in the NSIC Tournament last weekend, beating Wayne State in the opening round before dropping games to St. Cloud State and Augustana.
Past NSIC Players of the Week
2/21/12 Player: Brian Hansen - St. Cloud State
Pitcher: Matt Korte - Minnesota, Crookston
2/29/12 Player: Pat Dockendorf, Minnesota State
Pitcher: Bryce Bellin, Minnesota State
3/6/12 Player: Kyle Dalton, Concordia-St. Paul
Pitcher: Tadd Johansen, Wayne State
3/13/12 Player: Bryan Lippincott, Concordia-St. Paul
Pitcher: Mario Madera, Upper Iowa
3/19/12 Player: Derek Hansen, Augustana
Pitcher: Austen Wisroth, Wayne State
3/26/12 Player: Jaryd Marks, Bemidji State
Pitcher: Derek Quame, Augustana
4/2/12 Player: Anders Engberg, Minnesota Duluth
Pitcher: Shawn Riesgraf, St Cloud State
4/9/12 Player: Bryan Lippincott, Concordia-St. Paul (2)
Pitcher: Derek Hansen, Augustana
4/16/12 Player: Nate Van Roekel, Winona State
Pitcher: Tyler Ockuly, Minnesota State
4/23/12 Player: Brian Voight, Augustana
Pitcher: Derek Hansen, Augustana (2)
5/01/12 Player: Zach Braun, Bemidji State
Pitcher: Logan Birr, St. Cloud State
Pitcher: Scott Lieser, St. Cloud State
5/07/12 Player: Garrett Fischer, SCSU
Pitcher: Tadd Johansen, Wayne State (2)
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