Valley City –  (VCSU.com)  The VCSU baseball team dropped both sides of a double header Sat against Waldorf Univ.

The Warriors scored three runs in the third inning of game one and held on for a 3-2 victory – the third straight game in the series that was decided by that score. In game two, Waldorf scored seven runs in the first inning en route to a 9-2 victory.

The Vikings finished the series going 1-3 against the Warriors, winning the first game on Friday.

Valley City State drops to 15-18 overall and 10-8 in the North Star Athletic Association. Waldorf improves to 26-16 overall and 16-2 in conference play. The Warriors are currently second in the NSAA while the Vikings sit in third place in the standings.

Up next: Valley City State hosts Presentation College on Monday for one non-conference game. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Charlie Brown Memorial Field. Waldorf plays a conference doubleheader at Viterbo on Wednesday.

Waldorf 3, VCSU 2
Valley City State struck first when Jorun Hamre singled and later scored on a Waldorf throwing error in the bottom of the second inning.

The Warriors responded with all three of their runs in the third inning, including a two-run home run off the bat of Brett Stenlund. The Vikings were unable to complete a comeback, scoring just one more run in the eighth inning on Aiden Brook‘s RBI single. It was the third straight game in the series that ended with a score of 3-2.

The Vikings had the tying run on base in both the eighth and ninth innings, but were caught stealing in the eighth and then grounded into a game-ending double play in the ninth.

Dylan Hoffman earned the win for Waldorf, giving up just three hits and one unearned run in his seven innings on the mound. Hoffman walked three and struck out two. Andrew Benns picked up a two-pitch save after coming on in the ninth inning and inducing a game-ending double play.

Nicholas Vargas started on the mound for VCSU and was solid through six innings. Varges scattered seven hits and gave up just the three runs in the third inning. He walked only one and struck out eight.

VCSU’s Shaun Kourajian and Marcus Niemann combined to pitch the final three innings, giving up no hits and no runs.

Garrett Munoz and Matt Palmer each had a pair of hits for Waldorf, and Stenlund had the big blow with his two-run home run.

Aiden Brook picked up two hits and an RBI for the Vikings. Four other Vikings had one hit each, including doubles by Grant Wehseler and Brady Smith.

Waldorf 9, VCSU 2
The Warriors sent 11 batters to the plate in the top of the first inning, erupting for seven runs and seven hits to start game two. The big blows came off the bats of Matt Garcia, Jack Muhleck and Joey Ponder, who combined to deliver three straight two-out hits that scored five of the seven runs.

Valley City State pushed two runs across in the bottom of the third inning, aided by a wild pickoff attempt by Waldorf’s Kyle Froom. Brian Fike scored on the error and Shaun Kourajian moved to third. Kourajian then came in on Brady Smith‘s RBI groundout, cutting the Waldorf lead to 7-2.

Valley City State had a golden chance to tack on more runs in the fourth inning after Froom hit three straight batters to load the bases with one out. Froom worked out of the jam though by striking out two straight Vikings to end the inning.

VCSU starting pitcher Jesse Johnson took the loss, but pitched well outside of the first inning. After Waldorf’s seven-run outburst to start the game, Johnson settled in and gave up just one hit over the next four innings, and then was lifted after giving up a solo home run to start the sixth.

Kyle Froom picked up the win for Waldorf after giving up just two hits and two unearned runs over his four innings of work. He walked one and struck out five.

Brett Stenlund led the Warrior offense with a 3-for-4 game at the plate. Garcia was 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs. Jack Muhleck drove in two, and Joey Ponder had two hits – both in Waldorf’s big first inning.

VCSU managed just four hits in the game, with Fike and Kourajian scoring the only runs.