Article

Stumblin' Down South
Looking for consistency after a successful spring break trip to Florida, the Maverick baseball team lost three of four games in Bolivar, Mo.

by Garret Felder
March 28, 2006

When readers look at the classifieds page of a newspaper, they will mostly see “wanted” ads for roommates and local business help. After losing three of four games in Bolivar, Mo., the Minnesota State baseball team may buy a classified ad that says “Searching for consistency.”

After winning six of seven in Ft. Myers, Fla., the squad struggled with offensive consistency and endured defensive and pitching mistakes during its three-game skid.

“We can’t afford to make mistakes. We don’t have the fire power we had last year,” said head coach Dean Bowyer. “We should be doing a better job because we’re a little bit older and we should be a little tougher mentally than we are.”

Not only did the Mavericks battle offensive inconsistency, but they also encountered some defensive errors during a 4-0 loss to Southwest Baptist Friday. As MSU faced Zane Montgomery – one of the top pitchers in the Midwest with an early 8-0 record – they also struggled for hits as the Maverick’s ace pitcher, senior tri-captain Matt McMurtry, took the loss after giving up a three-run homer in the fifth inning.

Except for the Mavericks 15-5 rout of SBU in the second game of Friday’s doubleheader, MSU faced some of the same problems from the first game of the road trip as the Mavericks’ continued to struggle at the plate and in the field.

“We had some inconsistency at the plate and a few defensive mishaps,” said junior tri-captain Adam Sudbeck.

During the only win of the weekend, Sudbeck accounted for four of the Mavericks’ 18 hits and smacked in three of the team’s 15 runs in the second game of Friday’s doubleheader. But the Mavericks’ lone victory would be quickly silenced by a 4-2 loss to SBU in their third meeting of the weekend Saturday and a 9-4 loss to No. 11 Central Missouri State Sunday.

While the Mavericks started Sunday by building a 4-0 lead by the second inning, a couple of officiating twists turned a Maverick lead into a five-run sixth inning for CMSU. After a failed pickoff attempt and junior Ben King walking in a runner on a full count, the Mavericks’ confidence sank along with their offense for the remainder of the game.

“You can’t let the umpire control the game and when you’re away from home, your not going to get the breaks,” Bowyer said. “There was a couple of calls that hurt us but it never should have got to 3-2 and that’s our own fault.”

Indeed Bowyer was right as the Mavericks made mistakes during some officiating adversity, but CMSU still took advantage of all the opportunities created by MSU errors and questionable calls.

“[CMSU] made the best of the opportunities they had at the time,” Sudbeck said, “and we just weren’t hitting like we were earlier in the game.”

Beside inconsistent hitting and fielding, the Mavericks also struggled in their strongest department of the game. Adding to the squad’s offensive and defensive misfortunes, the Mavericks also had some problems with pitching, including a larger than normal number of walks issued by their starters.

“We got to be throwing more strikes. Plus, [our pitchers] work their count deep and then they can’t go as long. Instead of pitching seven to eight innings they are throwing five or six, especially in nine-inning games,” Bowyer said. “But the big thing is with the 7-8-9 guys. You got to make them hit the ball. You are going to get some walks but we got to get that first guy out.”

The Mavericks hope to rebound from their drop to 11-7 on the season with a doubleheader against Upper Iowa Wednesday. After having their doubleheader with Bemidji State in Mankato cancelled, Bowyer hopes the veterans of his squad bounce back from the weekend and that more games will lead to better play and more success.

“We just need to get some more games in, get a little bit more consistent and play a better brand of baseball,” Bowyer said. “If you are good and tough mentally then your physical game will come around.”