MINOT, N.D. – For the second time in two days the Minot State University baseball team defeated the No. 3 team in the country. If it wasn't special enough the first time, this time the team did it on the day they said goodbye to seven seniors.
 
"I'll be able to pull a lot of good memories from this weekend," said senior Keith Ailes. "That's how I'd want to go out as a senior. I couldn't be more thankful."
 
In game one the St. Cloud State Huskies traded leads with the Beavers four times before a three-run home run from Celestino Rodriguez in the fifth inning put the home team up for good. MSU would score four more runs to secure an 11-6 victory.
 
The home run from Rodriguez was his second of the day and 15th of the season which broke the Minot State single-season record.
 
"It's hard to put into words," Rodriguez said of his new record. "It's something I didn't think I would get right away, but as it started to get into reach the reality of it set in. Finally getting it was one of those moments where I wish my family could see it, but I know they were watching from home and loving it. I probably have a lot of phone calls."
 
Rodriguez, a freshman, didn't let his record cast a shadow on what the day meant to his teammates as they sent of a group of players that meant so much.
 
"Those guys are all like brothers to us," Rodriguez said. "Coming in as a freshman those guys welcomed us with open arms. We spend more time with them than anyone else around here so it really means the world just to send them out that way.
 
"We'll never have the same group of 30 guys together again. It's crazy to think of, but just knowing that we did something that many people didn't think we could do is amazing. We sent them out on a high note and showed how we could play."
 
The pitching from the Beavers was handled by Wyatt Moore and Kendal Daniels. The two switched roles as Moore has worked his way to earn a spot in the starting rotation after pitching in relief at the beginning of the season while Daniels, considered to be the teams ace, finished the game for MSU and earned a save.
 
"Kendal's been our guy all year," said head coach Brock Weppler. "We had a chance to slam the door on them. Wyatt was throwing well, but Kendal wanted the ball. We haven't thrown him on short rest at all so we knew he'd be ready to come in and do it. He's the guy we want with the ball in his hand."
 
In game two six of the seven seniors made appearances and did their best to earn another win. The game may have ended 19-14 in favor of St. Cloud State, but Minot State didn't go down easy.
 
All four seniors in the lineup recorded at least one hit and accounted for seven of the team's 14 hits. MSU started off hot and went up 8-2 after two innings before the Huskies put up 11 runs in the fourth inning.
 
The Beavers bounced back though and tied the game in the fifth inning with help from a grand slam from Paul Vogelsang in the fourth inning.
 
"Our guys got into two good ball games with them yesterday and knew we could come in and do the same today," Weppler said. "They expected no less. We gave St. Cloud State everything they wanted and more. They made some comments to our guys on the field about how we wouldn't go away. You could tell they were frustrated with us."
 
After the second game the seniors said their goodbyes, but the impact they made at Minot State will not soon be forgotten.
 
"I'm so impressed with the type of people they are," Weppler said. "Those are the type of players you want to have. They're good quality people. There aren't a lot of programs where you can walk in and be treated like equals, but our seniors are almost like father figures to those younger guys. What they've done for our program is going to continue down the road."
 
About Minot State
Minot State University is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and NCAA Division II offering 14 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletics programs. The NSIC is a premier NCAA DII, 16-member conference featuring teams in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa. The Beavers are the only public NCAA Division II institution in the state of North Dakota.