Sheltered by the air-inflated rooftop of Minneapolis' Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, the University of Minnesota Duluth baseball team fell twice to Minnesota State University-Mankato on Tuesday night (3-2 and 8-4). As a result, the Bulldogs dropped their record to 2-6 in 2007 while the Mavericks improved to 8-3 overall.

Game 1:

After posting two scoreless innings to start the game, Minnesota Duluth made its mark on the scoreboard first in a 3-2 setback.

Back-to-back two-out doubles by juniors Tony Doherty and Kyle Zweber in the top of the third inning gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. Tim Garceau flied out to the right fielder to end the scoring threat.

MSU-Mankato would come up empty again in the third frame before evening the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth and tacking on another two runs in the fifth.

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Cole Hytjan got the starting nod for UMD and allowed one earned run in four innings of work. He was relieved by junior co-captain Andrew Heieie, who was saddled with the loss.

Junior utility man Ty Fadness brought the Bulldogs within one run in the seventh with a RBI double that plated Heieie. Fadness was stranded at second base when junior outfielder Luke Johnson struck out swinging to record the final out.

Doherty finished 2 for 2 at the plate with a stolen base while Zweber and Fadness each went 1 for 3 with an RBI.

\"Game 1 was a very well played by both teams,\" second-year UMD head coach Bob Rients said. \"We didnt come out on top but I'm happy with the way we played. Tonight, we faced a very good opponent.\"

Game 2:

MSU-Mankato erased a 4-1 deficit after four innings of play with seven runs in the top of the fifth to grab an 8-4 win.

UMD outfielder Tony Doherty led off the game with a triple and Kyle Zweber plated the Prior Lake, Minn., native with a fielder's choice. The Mavericks tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the second and in the same frame the Bulldogs regained the lead with a two-run double by senior outfielder Tim Garceau.

In the bottom of the fourth, Bulldog freshman Dallas Jagiela belted his first collegiate home run, a blast that carried some 370 feet over the wall in left.

The Mavericks collected three hits, three walks and also capitalized on a Bulldog fielding error to rack up the seven runs during the fifth frame. UMD would not score again thanks to MSU-Mankato's Chris Odegaard, who pitched two spotless innings of relief to earn his first collegiate victory.

Junior righty John Leitch got the start for the Bulldogs, lasted four innings, and gave up two earned runs.

\"We werent capable of holding the lead in the fifth inning,\" Rients said. \"As a team, we need to work on limiting those types of scoring outbursts by other teams to keep us in games.\"

Up Next:

The Bulldogs will try to snap a five-game losing streak when they face the University of Charleston next Tuesday in Ft. Myers, Fla., at 8 a.m. CDT. The non-conference twinbill with the Golden Eagles is the first of 11 games to be played in the Sunshine State from March 13-19.