The first game in a best-of-three Super Regional series between Minnesota State-Mankato and Augustana had a unique ending on Friday night as the Mavericks won after it was ruled an Augustana batter had leaned into a pitch.
The Mavericks entered the ninth inning holding a 5-0 lead but Augustana rallied for four runs off Minnesota State reliever Dylan Gotto to make it a 5-4 game. Spencer Wright came into the game to try and close it out but after getting the first two outs of the inning, he loaded the bases for Ragan Pinnow.
The at-bat would come down to a full count and it appeared that Wright hit Pinnow to drive in the tying run, but home plate umpire Nate Foley ruled that Pinnow stuck his elbow out to get hit by the pitch, which resulted in the third out of the inning and ended the game.
Game ends with the bases loaded and the tying run on third because the hitter leaned in on the payoff pitch pic.twitter.com/6HDayp97zT
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 27, 2023
After a brief review, the Mavericks were declared the winner to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Unfortunately, the ninth inning proved to be a rallying point for the Vikings as they swept a Saturday doubleheader, defeating the Mavericks 8-3 and 16-2 to advance to the NCAA D-II Baseball Championship next weekend.
Minnesota State finished the year with a 43-18 record.
