MANKATO, Minn. – Minnesota State split Saturday’s doubleheader against St. Cloud State as the No. 11 Mavericks defeated the No. 8 Huskies 5-2 in game one before falling 11-3 in game two.
 
Minnesota State did the majority of its damage in the first inning of game one as junior Lucas Skjefte reached first after getting hit by a pitch to lead off the game before being moved over to third base on a double by senior Matt Kuchenbecker. 
 
Both of the Maverick runners would be driven in the following at-bat as senior Pat Dockendorf stepped to the plate and hit a three-run home run which gave the Mavericks a 3-0 lead.
 
St. Cloud State would cut the lead to 3-1 in the bottom half of the inning after a solo home run by Joey Benke before the Mavericks were able to get the run back in the next inning after an RBI double by junior Mike Eckhart scored senior Matt Odegaard who led off the inning with a single.
 
However, the Huskies would cut the lead to two runs once again in the bottom of the second after Travis Enger’s RBI double to right-center left St. Cloud State trailing, 4-2.
 
The lead would prove to be enough for the Mavericks in game one, however, as they scored their fifth and final run on an RBI single by Dockendorf which gave MSU a 5-2 lead where the score would remain as junior Nick Sutherland picked up his sixth save of the season after pitching the bottom half of the seventh.
 
Starting pitcher Harvey Martin improved his record to 7-0 after allowing two runs on four hits while striking out five batters in six innings pitched.
 
The Mavericks were led at the plate by Dockendorf who finished game one 2-for-4 with a home run, his fifth of the season, four RBI and a run scored.  Kuchenbecker and Eckhart were the only other Mavericks to record multiple hits, each going 2-for-3.
 
Minnesota State once against struck first in game two as senior Ben Kincaid connected on an RBI double which scored Skjefte who doubled to lead off the game as the Mavericks to the early 1-0 lead.
 
However, the bottom half of the first and the next two innings weren’t as kind to the Mavericks as St. Cloud State scored two in the first, four in the second and five in the third as the Huskies jumped out to a commanding 11-2 lead as MSU added its second run in the top of the third.
 
The Mavericks would add their third run in the sixth inning after a solo home run by Odegaard but it wouldn’t be near enough as MSU fell in game two, 11-3.
 
The game-two loss ended Minnesota State’s seven-game winning streak which dated back to April 6.
 
Sophomore Bryce Bellin dropped his first decision of the season after allowing 10 runs on 10 hits in two innings of work.  He now stands 6-1 on the season.  Relief pitcher Mathias Butala pitched the final six innings for the Mavericks while allowing one run on four hits.
 
MSU saw two players record multiple hits in game two as Odegaard went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored while Eckhart went 2-for-4 at the plate.
 
Saturday’s split leaves MSU with a 24-6 overall record while it moves to 12-2 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.  St. Cloud State is now 24-9 overall and 9-5 in the NSIC.
 
Minnesota State completes its four-game series with St. Cloud State tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.