Minnesota State Baseball's 41-20 Win Was a Thing of Beauty
College baseball can be a strange sport. Aluminum bats, suspect pitching and liberal scheduling of double headers all lead to some strange scores and comebacks.
This one, though, stands apart: Minnesota State 41, Bemidji State 20.
Just another day in Division II baseball between two in-state foes in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. This game remarkably didn’t set a record. Division Robert Morris (Ill.) defeated St. Francis (Ill.) 71-1 in a game in 1996 for the highest scoring NCAA baseball game.
This game was the second of a double header and the second of four games between the two schools on Saturday and Sunday. Minnesota State won the series 10-9, 41-20, 14-4 and 23-1. The double headers, it seems, are a norm for Minnesota State, which has had nine of them since March 20.
The box score is a work of art. Here are some of the best highlights:
• The listed attendance was 125. That’s about two runs per fan.
• Minnesota State needed only 35 hits for those 41 runs thanks to six errors, eight walks and three hit batsmen.
• The first plate appearance in the top of the first inning? A hit by pitch.
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• The first plate appearance in the top of the second? A throwing error by the third baseman.
• Minnesota State led 22-18 to start the seventh inning and 27-20 to start the eighth before a 14-run final inning. The game ended due to the mercy rule.
• Pitchers combined for five bases loaded walks, two by the team that won.
• Bemidji State’s WHIP was 5.375.
• Bemidji State pitcher Derek Masberg faced 10 batters in the eighth without recording an out.
• Bemidji State Collin Eckman came into the game as a pinch hitter in the second and still finished 4-of-4 with seven RBI and five runs.
• Minnesota State batted around in the second and third and twice in the eighth
• Bemidji State batted around in the second and sixth. Bemidji State went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eighth to end the game.
Here are the Minnesota State’s live tweets from the game:
