Article

Baseball Slams St. Cloud
MSU wins its 12th straight, strokes 11 homeruns in two games against SCSU.

by Garret Felder
April 25, 2006

“Streaks” and “statistics” have been the two words describing the last two weeks for the men's baseball team. Whether it is hitting streaks, conference wins, or how many times head coach Dean Bowyer yells “Big Guy” to any player in the field, the Mavericks have used these two words to push their record to 31-9 for the season.

As the Mavericks up their winning streak to 12 games after sweeping St. Cloud State in four games Friday and Sunday, MSU's baseball squad has plenty of streaks and statistics to brag about.

While the Mavericks continued their winning streak after defeating SCSU 11-0 and 6-2 in two games Friday in St. Cloud, Minn., junior Mark Dolenc added two games to his 13-game hitting streak with a three-for-eight day, including two doubles, two runs and an RBI.

“Dolenc kind of sets the table. He leads off and he runs so well that he'll get infield hits,” Bowyer said. “At the beginning of the year he had 12 strikeouts, and I mentioned to him that he will have to go to pitching because he was not doing the job offensively. Then (Ben) Kaus sprained his ankle, so Dolenc got another chance and has only struck out three times since then, which is probably over a month.”

Two days later, junior tri-captain Adam Sudbeck fueled the Mavericks' offensive fire during their 15-5 and 17-0 victories over SCSU Sunday at the MSU Baseball Complex. Adding to his two home runs he hit Friday, Sudbeck sent four more over the fence Sunday, including a grand slam as a bonus to his three-home run performance during the second game. Dolenc added to Sudbeck's power surge with four hits in seven at bats and bumped his hitting streak up to 17 games.

“I've just been a little more patient at the plate and just not trying to do too much” Sudbeck said. “A lot of times earlier in the season you try to go up there and hit the first pitch, but lately I've been hitting pitchers' mistakes and just been more patient at the plate.”

Sudbeck has been on a power-hitting spree since April 12, as he has hit 10 home runs in 12 games, including three games with multiple blasts. With his increased power, Sudbeck has tallied 13 home runs this season and stands just five short of tying Kevin Dixon's single-season home run record of 18 from last year.

“We had Sudbeck as our leadoff man, but he is not a real good leadoff man because he will strike out a little more often than what you want a leadoff man to,” Bowyer said. “But he is more suited for driving in runs and he leads our team in RBIs. So we have him in the three spot.”

But while Sudbeck inches closer to the record with 13 games left, his focus stays on the Mavericks' win column.

“It really hasn't crossed my mind, though a couple of people on the team have joked around saying ‘Kevin who?’” Sudbeck said. “But the main concentration right now, for me, is helping the team win. And if that means hitting a home run, getting a base hit, or a sacrifice bunt I'm going to do it. I don't care so much about [the record], I care about the win column in conference and winning the conference.”

Although Sudbeck leads the squad in multiple offensive categories (hits, runs, RBIs, home runs, and slugging percentage), he also has been plunked the most by opposing pitchers as Sudbeck leads the team by being hit by 14 pitches. Even though it might not be bad blood like Sudbeck said, it could be a small coincidence that the Mavericks' top hitter is also getting thrown at as much as Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros.

“I crowd the plate a little bit, but I think the pitchers are trying to jam me by throwing inside,” Sudbeck said. “But I'm willing to take that pitch if it is not there. Pitchers have been missing and hitting me earlier, but if it's close to inside, a lot of times I'll just take it for the team just to get on base. But it's no bad blood or anything with anybody.”

Along with Dolenc's hitting streak and Sudbeck's coincidental home run/hit by pitch stats, the Mavericks' also had a pitcher opening the MSU record books with a pen in hand for most wins in a career.

After pitching five innings and striking out nine SCSU batters during the Mavericks' first win Sunday, senior tri-captain Matt McMurtry earned his seventh victory of the season and his 25th of his career at MSU. With the win, McMurtry tied Chris Rupert for first on MSU's all-time win list. Rupert set the record with 25 during the 1999-2002 seasons and was later signed in 2002 by the Philadelphia Phillies as a free agent.

Yet, with 13 regular season games left and a recent fifth-place ranking in the regional poll, the Mavericks see themselves building on more to their foundation of 12-straight wins and winning their last 19 of 20 games.

“We are definitely one of the top teams in the conference, us and Nebraska-Omaha,” Sudbeck said. “We've played a lot of teams in our region and we can play with any of those teams. When we come to play we are going to be one of the top teams if not the best.”

The Mavericks hope to add to their 12-game winning streak during a doubleheader at Southwest Minnesota State on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.