Mayville, N.D. - Mayville State Comets Baseball hosted the Dakota State Trojans for their last games of the regular season. The Comets also celebrated 14 seniors on Saturday. 

"We honored fourteen seniors on Saturday, all of which I have a ton of appreciation and love for. They have given a lot to Mayville State University and Comets Baseball," said head coach Billy Tomblin. "It's a bittersweet day for me, I love that they are on the verge of taking the next big step in life, but selfishly I don't want to see them go."

Senior recognized were: Carson Lundmark, Brady Robinson, Cam Johnson, Jack Patten, Avery Kirkup, Derek Palmiere, Ethan Tingey, Tanner Boyle, Chris Shopbell, Cole Fischer, Danny Hernandez, Riley Rankin, Dan Mercandelli & Calvin Watkins.

Game 1: W 3-1
- Chris Shopbell leads the first inning off with a single and Carson Lundmark reached first on a Trojan error
- With 2 outs, Lundmark scores on an error by the catcher, giving the Comets an early 1-0 lead 
- The Trojans respond immediately, leading the 2nd inning off with a home run to tie the game
- Things were quiet offensively on both sides until the bottom of the 6th
- Kevin Conway led things off with followed up by a single from Jack McQueen
- With 2 runners on, Jalen Denton smoked a home run to give the Comets a 3-1 lead
- In the top of the 7th, the Trojans get their lead off man on with a single 
- Their next batter would smoke a line drive to first base and the Comets would get a double play
- Garret Lundmark would strike out the fine out and get the W on the mound for the Comets

"Game one was another gem from Garret, throwing another complete game in a dominate performance and we were able to seal the deal with a late home run by Jalen," commented Tomblin. 

Game 2: L 5-13
- Things are quiet until the bottom of the 3rd inning where the Comets got on the board first with a solo home run from C. Lundmark
- In the bottom of the 4th, Comets up 1-0, Denton hits his second home run of the day, extending the Comets lead 3-0
- Trojans get some momentum, scoring a run in the top of the 5th & 6th inning to make it a 3-2 ball game heading into the 7th
- In the top of the 7th, the Trojans scored 7 runs on 7 hits, taking the lead 9-3
- Mayville State responds with a 2 out 2 RBI home run making it 9-5 heading into the 8th inning
- Dakota State tacks on 4 more runs in the 9th inning, taking the win 13-5 

"Marshall followed Garret and went 5 innings giving up 1 run on 2 hits. Unfortunately, we just didn't get it done out of the bullpen late and offensively it was a tough game to battle back in going up against Tyrpa who was runner up for pitcher of the year last season," added Tomblin.

Game 3: L 1-12
- Trojans get on the board first on a 2 out fielders choice in the top of the 1st
- Comets tie it up with a solo home run from C. Lundmark
- Dakota State scores 6 runs on 4 hits in the top of the 2nd, taking the lead 7-1
- The Trojans tack on another run in the 4th and another 4 runs in the 5th extending their lead 12-1
- Mayville State can't get much going offensively and falls in game 3

"This game was just a butt kicking, arguably the worst game we have had ont he mound and at the plate all season. The only thing I said to the guys after the game was to just turn the page and let's find a way to salvage a split," said Tomblin.

Game 4: L 8-9
- Dakota State gets a 3-0 lead early after the first 2 innings of play
- Comets plate a run with back to back doubles from Juan Villarreal and Shopbell in the bottom of the 3rd making it 3-1 Trojans early
- Trojans plate another run in the top of the 5th, extending their lead 4-1
- C. Lundmark hits a 2 out solo home run in the bottom of the 7th, making it 4-2 Trojans heading into the 8th
- Dakota State scores on a 2 out double, 5-2 Trojans
- Riley Rankin hits a 2 RBI home run to make it a one run ball game heading into the 9th inning
- In the bottom of the 9th, Rankin is able to hit a 2 out RBI single to tie the game 5-5 sending them into extra innings
- Nothing happens in the 10th, but the Trojans put up 4 runs quickly in the 11th making it 9-5 Dakota State
- Conway and Rankin lead the bottom of the 11th off with back to back singles 
- McQueen reaches first on an error by the Trojans and two Comets cross the plate making it 9-7 with 0 outs and a runner at first
- Quinn Pershing hit a 2 out RBI single scoring McQueen making it a one run game
- Dakota State would be able to get their final out and strand the tying run on 1st

"In the final game we fell behind early, but Jack Patten & Jack Wold did a fantastic job out of the pen for us to give us a chance to win. Rankin came up with a big home run that got a little fire going and then drove in another run in extras to keep us going. A few defensive miscues allowed Dak State to put up a 4 spot and we had our opportunities offensively to walk it off but just couldn't come up with the hit," commented Tomblin.

This year's tournament will feature eight total teams, all six teams from the NSAA conference and two teams from the Cal Pac Conference.  Regular-season champion Simpson (Calif.) and La Sierra (Calif.) will be competing in the double elimination tournament format. The North Star Athletic Association has awarded two automatic bids to the NAIA Baseball National Tournament Opening Round this year. The Comets earned the no. 7 seed spot in the tournament.

"It's crazy to think going into the tournament as a 7 seed that I truly believe we have a shot to win this thing, but I do. On our side of the bracket we have UJ, DiSU & La Sierra. We were 8-8 against UJ and DiSU combined on the year and know nothing about La Sierra," said Tomblin. "In terms of the league as a whole, we beat everyone at least once with exception of Bellevue which we played tight twice so I really do think we have a shot at this thing so I am really excited to get out to Dickinson and get going. It's tournament time now, crazy things happen, I have seen it happen countless times in my 16 years here as a player and a coach. I've seen years we should win it and don't and years where I think everyone counted us out and we won the whole thing - it's fun time of the year."

The Comets kick things off at the NSAA Conference Tournament on Thursday against Jamestown, first pitch is slated for 4pm (MT). For full press release on the NSAA Conference Tournament visit: https://playnorthstar.com/news/2025/4/28/2025-nsaa-baseball-postseason-tournament-pairings-announced.aspx