Omaha, Neb. – Mayville Sate Baseball headed south to kick off a four-game series against the No. 16 nationally ranked Bellevue Bruins on Friday.

The series was scheduled to be played at home for the Comets, but the Scott Berry Field is a few days away from being playable.

Game 1: L 2-3

"There are moments in every game that you have to win and we lost in those moments - we didn't get a crucial bunt down,  we didn't execute at the plate with runners in scoring position and we dropped two fly balls in the outfield. Those moments are the moments you need to win to win games and we didn't get it done today," said head coach Billy Tomblin.

The first game would have the Comets in control 2-0 until the 6^th inning.

It all started in the bottom of the first when Marcus Hughes was hit by a pitch to lead the game off.  

Carson Lundmark then hit a single to right field advancing Hughes to 3rd. He would be stranded there until there were two outs.

Riley Rankin would later drive Hughes in with a single to right.

Things would be quiet for both teams until the 5^th, when the Comets were able to plate another run making it 2-0..

Sam Hilgersom and Caleb Jamieson led the inning off with back-to-back singles and Ricky Marquez would lay down a SAC bunt to move them both into scoring position.

Lundmark was walked with runners at 2^nd and 3^rd; rightfully so as he is the Comets' RBI leader with 35 on the season.

This didn't work in the Bruins favor, as Chris Shopbell would come up to the plate with bases loaded and get hit by a pitch, allowing Hilgersom to walk across the plate.

Mayville State would lead the Bruins 2-0 heading into the top of the 6^th.

Bellevue would start the 6^th off with a lead off single followed by a double, which would plate one run. A SAC bunt and another single by the Bruins would be enough to tie the game at 2-2.

Bellevue would tack on another in the top of the 7^th to take the lead for the first time in the game.

They would be able to hold off the Comets and take the game 3-2.

The Bruins would hold Mayville State to 2 runs on 6 hits.

Carson Lundmark went 1-3, 1 BB
Riley Rankin went 2-3
Anthony Villanueva went 1-3, 2B
Sam Hilgersom went 1-2
Caleb Jamieson went 1-3.
 
Austin McClure got his 8^th start of the season on the mound for the Comets. He would give up just 2 runs on 7 hits and he would strike out 4.

Gunnar Thompson came in relief in the 6^th, giving up 1 run on 2 hits.

"Austin did a great job on the mound today. He spun the breaking ball really well, commanded that zone with his fastball and most importantly gave us a chance to win," added Tomblin. "Unfortunately we didn't do a good enough job at the plate and defensively we did some things that allowed Bellevue to capitalize on and get the win."
 
Game 2: L 2-13
 
The Bruins started game two off by drawing a walk and hitting a home run to take an early 2-0 lead.
 
Mayville State would quickly respond in the bottom of the first when Shopbell came up to the plate and blasted a 2 out home run over left field. This was his fifth of the season.
 
Heading into the top of the 2^nd, the score 2-1 in the Bruins favor, the Comets would commit an error allowing Bellevue to get their leadoff batter on. A single a couple of at bats later would extend the Bruins lead 3-1.
 
Once again, the Comets would quickly respond. This time Hilgersom would smoke a home run over the left field fence to lessen the Bruin lead 3-2.
 
That would remain the score until the top of the 6^th where the Bruins would score 3 runs on 4 hits, extending their lead 6-2.
 
Bellevue would go on to score 2 in the 7^th, 3 in the 8^th and 2 more in the 9^th  extending their lead 13-2.
 
The Comets saw light in the bottom of the 9^th as Avery Kirkup led things off with a single up the middle and Hughes drew a walk.
 
Rankin would load the bases up with a single to right but that would be all Mayville State could muster up and the Bruins would take the game 13-2.
 
Mayville State would score 2 runs on 10 hits.
 
Chris Shopbell went 2-5, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Riley Rankin went 3-5
Sam Hilgerson went 2-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Ricky Marquez went 1-2
Avery Kirkup went 1-1
 
Gregor Farquharson got the start for game 2 on the mound where he would give up 6 runs on 9 hits and strike out 3.
 
Brady Robinson & Ryan Froemke would each pitch an inning behind Farquharson, giving up a combined 5 runs on 8 hits.

"Game two was just a flat out poor performance in all aspects. We ended up with double digits in hits but only two runs to show for it," said Tomblin. "We did a really poor job commanding the fastball and struggled to find the ability to spin the breaking ball. We continued to kick the ball around and when you play a good team, you cannot do that stuff and think you are going to compete against them," added Tomblin.
 
The Comets are back in action tomorrow, taking on the Bruins for Game 3 and 4, the first pitch is set for 12:00pm.
 
For full schedule details visit: https://msucomets.com/sports/baseball/schedule