By Shane Frederick
Free Press Staff Writer
FARMINGTON, N.M. —
It took two games against its biggest rival, but the Minnesota State baseball team won the NCAA Division II Central Region championship on Sunday in Farmington, N.M.
Facing Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference counterpart St. Cloud State for the eighth time this season, the Mavericks opened the day with a 16-6 loss but turned the tables on the Huskies in the final with a 20-6 victory.
“Unbelievable,” MSU coach Matt Magers said in a phone interview afterward. “Just a crazy day.”
The win put Minnesota State in the Division II College World Series for the fifth time but the first since 1986.
Danny Miller, earned tournament MVP honors after pitching the second-game win and going 4 for 5 with four RBIs and four runs. Miller pitched seven innings on Sunday, allowing three runs on four hits, striking out five and walking four.
“Danny Miller is an individual who has stepped up in every big game possible,” Magers said. “He’s just a gamer. There was no doubt about giving him the ball in the last game.”
Every player, it seemed made certain about the final win, as the Mavericks pounded out 23 hits, including six doubles.
Ben Kincaid, who took the loss pitching the first game, finished 4 for 7 with an RBI and four runs.
Matt Odegaard went 2 for 6 with four RBIs and three runs. Steven Helget went 2 for 4 with four RBIs. Matt Kuchenbecker went 3 for 5 with two RBIs and two runs. Zach Rowles went 3 for 6 with an RBI, and Mike Eckhart went 2 for 6 with 2 RBIs. Kosuke Hattori went 2 for 5 and scored three runs.
“We wanted to win the championship; we didn’t want it given to us,” Magers said. “And the guys went out and got after it. I’m proud of the effort in the last game.”
The Mavericks trailed 2-0 after the first inning of the second game but racked up the runs after that, getting four each in the third, fourth and fifth innings. The also had a five-run eighth inning.
“In the first game, St. Cloud scored 16 runs and hit us around,” Magers said. “We had to do something.”
The Huskies jumped out to an 8-0 lead after three innings of the first game, getting five runs on homers from Brian Hansen and Jordan Smith.
Minnesota State trimmed their deficit to 8-5 on Matt Kuchenbecker’s two-run home run, but St. Cloud kept pounding away with four runs in the seventh inning and eventually forced the rematch.
The Mavericks went 5-3 against the Huskies this season, including three high-scoring games against them over the weekend. Besides Sunday’s games, Minnesota State sent St. Cloud to the losers bracket on Saturday with an 11-10 victory.
Miller, Kincaid, Hattori and Bret Mitchell were named to the all-tournament team.
The Mavericks (44-14) will play in the NCAA championship tournament starting Saturday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. Minnesota State took fourth in the nation in 1986, and its best finish was in 1980 when it took third.
“Having been here 10 years (two years as head coach, eight years as an assistant), we’ve been so close so many times,” Magers said. “I hope this is a chance for all of those guys who have been so close — guys who were one pitch or one out away — to celebrate.”
