Comets Outlast V-Hawks in Back-and-Forth Doubleheader

LA CROSSE, Wis. – The Viterbo University Baseball team dropped a pair of North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) games to Mayville State University (ND) on Thursday afternoon. The games were moved from Mayville, ND to La Crosse, due to weather. The Comets took game one 10-15 and game two 4-7. The V-Hawks now hold an 8-25 (6-12 NSAA) record, while Mayville sits at 14-18 (8-9 NSAA).

Spencer Hans got Viterbo on the board early with an RBI double in the top of the first to bring in Marcus Hornacek, but the Comets responded in the bottom of the second with a triple, followed by an RBI single to even the score. a sacrifice fly and RBI double in the same inning gave them a 1-3 advantage. Hans would score in the top of the third on a Gavin Daniel RBI, and a Ryan Brooks two-RBI-double gave the lead back to the V-Hawks, 4-3. The bottom of the frame saw another lead change after a sacrifice fly and an RBI single put Mayville ahead 4-5. Chad Herrera's two RBI single brought in Carson and Trumpold and Hans in the fifth for yet another lead change. Hofer added to the lead, reaching home on Hans RBI single in the sixth, but a base clearing triple for MSU flipped the lead in the bottom of the sixth. The Comets added to the lead with an RBI double in the seventh, but a rally by the V-Hawks in the eighth that included two RBIs for Trumpold and another for Daniel but VU in the lead 10-9. Mayville had a huge rally of their own in the bottom of the eighth, scoring six runs on four hits to help claim the 10-15 win.

Hans led the V-Hawks offense, bringing in two RBIs while going 4-for-5 and stealing a base, while Daniel added a pair of RBIs while hitting 2-for-4. Anthony Villanueva went 2-for-3 with four RBIs for Mayville. Alec Danen recorded the loss, while Cale Beckman had six strikeouts in five innings. Alexander DeCaro earned the win.

In game two, Hofer had a pair of RBIs in the top of the second to give the V-Hawks an early lead, but four straight batters earned RBIs for the Comets to go ahead. Daniel's RBI single closed it to just a one-run deficit with an RBI-single in the third, scoring Remy Stern. MSU added a trio of insurance runs over the fifth and sixth innings, and while Hunter Hess's RBI would bring in Camden Smith, the V-Hawks could not get any closer than 4-7.

Hofer had a pair of RBIs, while Smith scored twice on 1-of-3 hitting for Viterbo, while Carson Lundmark went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Bryant Koenig recorded the loss with three Ks, while Connor Cory earned the win.

The series continues on Friday, April 14 at 12 PM at the Viterbo Outdoor Athletic Complex.