The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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St. Cloud State advances out of elimination bracket

St. Cloud State team advanced to the championship round of the NCAA Division II Central Region tournament Saturday with a pair of wins in the elimination round at Franklin Rogers Park.
In their first game, the Huskies eliminated Regis University by a score of 4-2. Mike Jurgella led St. Cloud, going 4 for 5 with two doubles and two RBIs. Steve Rindelaub added three hits and Garrett Fischer and Max Ditty had two apiece.
Austin Bosch pitched the first 61⁄3 innings for SCSU to get the win. He allowed two earned runs on six hits, fanned seven and walked one. Scott Lieser pitched the final 22⁄3 innings to get the save.
Regis was led by Steven Brault and Bob Terry. Both players were 2 for 4 with a double. Starter Aaron Harms took the loss.
In their second game, St. Cloud pounded out 15 hits in another 4-2 win over New Mexico Highlands.
Garrett Fischer and Brian Hansen ripped three hits apiece. Hansen also hit a double and knocked in a pair of runs.
Nick Maiers started for the Huskies but lasted just one inning. Lieser relieved and pitched the final eight innings to get the win.
Lieser scattered six hits, allowed one earned run, struck out eight and walked one. Ray Torres pitched the first five innings for Highlands and took the loss.
Highlands ends its season with a 41-16 record. St. Cloud (48-13) takes on Minnesota State at noon today and will have to win twice to win the region title.

Related Photos

  • Minnesota State's Matt Kuchenbecker is congratulated by teammates after a first inning solo home run during their game against New Mexico Highlands Saturday in the NCAA Division II Central Region tournament. Pat Christman

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  • Minnesota State's Matt Odegaard barely clings to second base as New Mexico Highlands second baseman Thomas King applies the tag during the first inning of their game Saturday in the NCAA Division II Central Region tournament. Pat Christman

    MSU basebl2_5-20.jpg

May 19, 2012

MSU baseball team advances to regional final

By Chad Courrier Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO — The last two games, Minnesota State won in the final at-bat, which is certainly exciting and a lot of fun.

But there’s also something to be said for an early lead and a less-intense finish.

“It’s always fun to play ahead and make the other team chase us,” senior first baseman Matt Odegaard said. “It takes the pressure off the pitcher, and we can just play defense.”

On Saturday, in the winners’ bracket final, Minnesota State struck early and finished with a 6-2 victory over New Mexico Highlands at the Central Region baseball tournament at Franklin Rogers Park.

Matt Kuchenbecker, the left-handed batter who is second in the Mavericks’ order, slapped a home run to left-center that carried well with the wind in the first inning. Patrick Dockendorf then doubled, and Odegaard drove him in with a single.

“We had a lot of good clutch hits,” Odegaard said. “(Kuchenbecker) got us going with the home run, and hitting is contagious. Everyone was able to relax and swing the bats.”

In the fourth inning, Ben Kincaid smoked a long homer to left that made it 3-1, negating a solo homer by Thomas King in the previous at-bat. Odegaard hit a two-run double for his third RBI in the fifth, and another run scored that inning on an infield error.

“These kind of games make you anxious, too,” Mavericks coach Matt Magers said. “We needed to score early and put the pressure on them.

“(Highlands) likes to be aggressive on the bases, and by getting ahead, it took them out of their offense. We made no errors, and the way (Jason) Hoppe was pitching, that’s a good combination.”

Odegaard and Dockendorf each had three hits for the Mavericks, who had 10 in the game. Chris Pile and Thomas King each had two hits for the Cowboys.

Hoppe, a sophomore right-hander who had 17 strikeouts in his last outing, allowed only seven hits and no walks with nine strikeouts. With a runner on third and no outs in the final inning, he got a flyout to right, foul out to first and a strikeout looking to finish the game.

“Our goal was to get a complete game out of Hoppe, and he did that,” Magers said. “It’s amazing how much he’s progressed every time out there.”

It was the third straight good pitching performance for the Mavericks, who have needed only four pitchers and given up seven runs in three games. It  means that Minnesota State will have fresh arms heading into the championship game today.

“Everybody is ready to go,” Odegaard said. “Jason gave us another great performance, and now we can watch the other teams try to chase us. We need to be focused and hungry (today) because we only want to play one game.”

MSU (47-10) plays at noon today, needing only one victory to clinch a berth in the Division II World Series.

“We were in a different position last week (at the conference tournament) where we had to win twice (to win the championship),” Magers said. “But the big thing is that we can get the players off their feet for 24 hours and get recharged physically and be ready to go.”

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