Mayville – Daegen Morcom and Kaden Rozdeba came up with clutch game-winning hits Sunday afternoon as the Valley City State baseball team rallied twice to finish off a series sweep at Mayville State.
 
Morcom delivered the game-winning 2-run single in the seventh inning of game one, which VCSU won 2-1. In game two, the Vikings were down to their last strike before Kaden Rozdeba hit the game-winning 2-run double in the ninth inning of a 7-6 victory.
 
Christopher Dietrich pitched a 7-inning complete game in the opener, while VCSU’s bullpen allowed just one run over 8 1/3 innings in game two.
 
VCSU’s two wins completed a 4-game series sweep over the Comets. The Vikings are now 18-27 overall and 10-10 in conference play. Mayville State drops to 11-36 overall and 6-17 in the conference. Prior to this weekend, VCSU had not swept a doubleheader against Mayville since the 2016 season. 
 
The Vikings are now in sole possession of third place in the NSAA standings, leading both Viterbo University and Waldorf University by one game. VCSU finishes the regular season with a four-game home series this coming weekend against Dickinson State.
 
Up next: Valley City State hosts Dickinson State on April 26-27. Friday’s games begin at 2 p.m. and Saturday’s doubleheader starts at 12 p.m.
 
VCSU 2, Mayville State 1
Christopher Dietrich pitched a complete game in Sunday’s opener, giving up just one run and four hits over seven innings on the mound. He walked three and struck out eight.
 
The Vikings trailed 1-0 entering the top of the 7th, but rallied in their final at bat. A single by Dustin Mertz and a walk by Rozdeba put two runners on with two outs. Both runners moved into scoring position on a passed ball, and then Morcom’s two-out single to center field scored both for a 2-1 lead.
 
Dietrich closed the door in the bottom of the inning, getting a ground out, fly out and pop out to seal the victory.
 
The Vikings had six players with one hit each in the game. Mayville State managed four hits in the loss. All 10 hits in the game were singles.
 
VCSU 7, Mayville State 6
Valley City State again rallied in their last at bat of the series finale. Trailing 6-5 entering the top of the ninth, VCSU was down to its final strike before Kaden Rozdeba doubled to the left-center gap – scoring both Dustin Mertz and Cody Wielgosh for a 7-6 lead.
 
After Mayville’s leadoff runner reached in the ninth, lefty Connor Nelson took over on the mound and got three straight outs to preserve a Viking victory.
 
Nelson’s quick save capped off an impressive game by the Viking bullpen. Starter Kahlil Tilbury ran into early trouble and was chased in the bottom of the first inning after allowing three hits, three walks and five runs. The Viking bullpen picked him up though as Jacob Marx, Riley Resnick and Nelson combined to allow just four hits and one run over the final 8 1/3 innings.
 
Marx pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of Tilbury, allowing just three hits and no runs while striking out five. Resnick earned the win as he pitched in the late innings, giving up one hit and one run over 1 2/3 innings. Nelson earned his five save of the season with a scoreless ninth.
 
VCSU managed nine hits in the game, including two each by Jay Greuel, Jaden Babiuk and Christian Ramirez. Daegen Morcom hit a solo home run, and Rozdeba’s 2-run double proved to be the biggest hit for VCSU’s offense.