MAYVILLE, N.D. – The Mayville State University Comets came from behind 2-0 early on Sunday and rallied to take the lead, but the Viterbo V-Hawks had a strong inning late, when the V-Hawks plated four runs, taking a 6-5 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning. The Comets rallied back, however, winning 14-6.
A leadoff walk by Marcus Hughes started the rally in the home half of the eighth inning. He would later score and tie the game at 6-6 on a wild pitch by Viterbo reliever Peter Rossman. Later, a hit by pitch to Marcus Wohl and an intentional walk to Theo May loaded the bases with only one out. Facing a 2-2 pitch, McCorrister hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Satrom and giving the Comets a 7-6 lead with two outs in the bottom of the eighth.
On the next at-bat, a two-run triple by Theisen, off a 1-0 pitch, scored May and pinch runner Josh Soine, pushing the Comets ahead 9-6 late – still with two outs.
Forst kept the rally going, singling through the hole on the left side of the infield, scoring Theisen.
A missed catch by Viterbo's third baseman, Marcus Hornacek, made it 11-6 as it scored Forst from third.
Sammy Satrom tripled to deep left, scoring Hughes and Gunner Garpestad. Later in the inning, with Soine at the plate, Satrom scored on a wild pitch. In all, the Comets scored nine runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and sent 14 batters to the plate.
Trailing 2-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning, Mayville State began a rally with Jared McCorrister's single to left-center field on an 0-2 pitch. Michael Theisen made it back-to-back singles to start the inning when he grabbed the first pitch he saw and launched it to shallow left, moving McCorrister to third on the play and bringing the potential go-ahead run to the plate in Skylar Forst.
Ahead in the count 1-0, Forst watched a pitch get away from Viterbo's catcher. The heads up play by the Comets allowed McCorrister to score from third, pulling the Comets to within a 2-1 margin.
After a walk to Forst, Gunnar Garpestad was hit by a pitch, loading the bases for Mayville State, and bringing Marcus Hughes to the plate.
Down in the count 1-2, Viterbo catcher Zach Braun again had a ball get past him, this time scoring Theisen from third and advancing Garpestad to second base, along with Forst to third. With two runners in scoring position, Hughes hit a double to left field, scoring Forst. Garpestad attempted to stretch his run to home plate, but was thrown out to end the threat on the play.
Later in the inning, after Hughes advanced to third on a groundout by Sammy Satrom, Anthony Villaneuva came to the plate.
Facing a 1-1 count, Villanueva watched a pitch go past Braun – and Hughes scampered home to pull the Comets ahead 4-2. Thee Comets would get three more base runners on in the fourth – but none were able to advance.
Wohl, Hughes and Theisen led the way for the Comets with two hits each. May, McCorrister, Forst and Satrom each added one hit apiece.
Kenny Stewart picked up the win for the Comets on the mound, giving up two runs on one hit in a single inning of work. He struck out three batters and walked two.
Conner DiNaro, the starter, pitched five innings, giving up two runs on four hits, walking three and striking out five batters.
Up Next
The Comets return to their home diamond next Friday and Saturday to take on the Dickinson State University Blue Hawks. It is Military Appreciation and Family Weekend at Mayville State.
Friday's games will begin at 1 p.m. at Scott Berry Field, while Saturday's doubleheader starts at 12 p.m.
Next weekend's series against the Blue Hawks will be the final series of the conference schedule.
The Comets are scheduled to end the season taking on the North Dakota State University Bison on May 4 at Newman Outdoor Field in Fargo, N.D., with first pitch slated for 5 p.m.
