VCSU Baseball Rebounds on Day 2 of NSAA Tournament

Posted By: Anthony Varrasso
May 7, 2022 @ 6:21 pm
Sports

From VCSU Athletics

VALLEY CITY, N.D. (VCSUAthletics.com) – The Valley City State baseball team used a big fourth inning to build a lead they wouldn’t give up in a 10-7 victory over Presentation College Saturday in the NSAA Tournament.

The Vikings are now 22-21 on the season and will advance to play Sunday at 12 p.m. VCSU will face the loser of Saturday’s 7 p.m. game which features No. 3 Dickinson State and No. 7 Viterbo. Presentation College ends its season with a 5-44 overall record and a 3-21 mark in conference play.

The Vikings broke scoring open in the fourth inning on a 2-run homer from David Demeter. VCSU then loaded the bases with singles from Drew Nixon and Jayden Babiuk followed by a Sal Avila hit-by-pitch. Then Ryan Reynolds smashed a grand slam to build the Viking lead, and Avery Bennefeld added an RBI single to make 7-0 after four innings.

Presentation closed the gap to 7-4 in the fifth inning on a 2-run home run from Mathias Gonzalez but in the top of the sixth, Avila added a solo home run, and Nixon was hit by a pitch to score a run that made it 9-4. Presentation narrowed the gap in the bottom of the sixth to 9-7, but another RBI single from Bennefeld in the eighth inning sealed the 10-7 VCSU victory over the Saints.

Starting pitcher Marcus Niemann got the win on the mound after 5 innings of work. He allowed four runs on seven hits, walked two and struck out eight. Adam Thompson pitched an inning in relief and allowed three runs on three hits and struck out one. Zach Veneman tossed 3 innings and did not allow a run while giving up three hits. He walked two and struck out one.

Dustin Mertz was 2-for-6 at the plate with a double and two runs scored Thursday. Bennefeld added two hits and two RBIs while Jayden Babiuk added a pair of hits for the Vikings. Avila, Demeter and Reynolds each homered in the win.

Presentation’s Zach Snyder was 3-for-4, scored two runs and drove in one. RJ Galvez, Tyus Stanley and Ethan Leech each tallied two hits and Gonzalez added three RBIs.

Francisco Avena got the loss on the mound Thursday after giving up seven runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out three. Four additional pitchers made an appearance in relief.