Junior righthander Jason Hoppe's scoreless innings streak is over — after he broke the NCAA record in all divisions — but, more importantly, his team still won.
Minnesota State Mankato edged St. Edward's of Austin, Texas, 6-5 on Thursday in the NCAA Division II baseball tournament in Cary, N.C., to advance to Saturday night's championship game. The Mavericks will play the winner of Friday's game between Tampa and Grand Valley State.
Hoppe pitched 3â…“ scoreless innings to extend his streak to 55â…“, breaking the record of 54 set by Kyle Jones of SIU-Edwardsville in 2006. He allowed three runs in five innings. It was the first time Hoppe (8-1) had given up a run since April 7.
The Mavericks (42-8) took a 6-4 lead in the bottom of the seventh on Nolan Johnson's two-run single. The sophomore catcher was 3-for-4. Minnesota State Mankato's Lucas Skjefte and Cutter Runte also had three hits and an RBI.
Stetson Olson hit a solo homer, his ninth of the season, for the Mavericks.
Here are video highlights from the day's games:
