ELKHORN, NEB. – The Valley City State baseball team dropped both sides of a doubleheader Saturday against Briar Cliff, falling 9-3 in the opener and then losing a late lead in a 5-4 loss to close out the day.
 
Brooks Brown pitched five innings of one-hit ball to pace the Vikings in game two, but Briar Cliff rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to complete the sweep.
 
Up next: The Vikings and Chargers conclude their four-game series on Sunday with another doubleheader at 11 a.m.
 
Briar Cliff 9, VCSU 3
Dustin Mertz went 2-for-4 with a double and a triple to lead VCSU's offense in game one. Mertz scored a run and drove in one. Jaden Babiuk had a double and an RBI, and Adam Thompson collected VCSU's other hit.
 
Hunter Magnuson started on the mound for VCSU and worked three innings. He recorded seven of the nine outs by strikeout, and finished his outing allowing five hits and five runs. Alex McBride, Harrison Mets, Devon Cook and Keeton Clark all pitched in relief.
 
Briar Cliff 5, VCSU 4
The Vikings built a 4-1 lead by a strong pitching performance from Brook Brown, but Briar Cliff rallied with four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.
 
Brown allowed just one hit and one run over his five innings on the mound. He scattered five walks and struck out two. Daniel Alvarado pitched the final 1 2/3 innings in relief and took the loss after Briar Cliff's late rally of four runs.
 
The Vikings manufactured two runs in the third inning, scoring on error and an RBI groundout by Drew Nixon. In the fifth, Nixon gave the Vikings a 3-1 lead with an RBI double – scoring Judson Seliskar – and then Hunter Magnuson singled home Nixon for a 4-1 lead.
 
With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning, Briar Cliff's Connor Lange singled through the infield to score two runs and tie the game at 4-4. Justin Remar then hit a chopper to shortstop and Shane Nixon's rushed throw to first sailed wide, allowing the Chargers to score the winning run.
 
The Vikings finished with six hits while Briar Cliff had just three hits in the game.
 
Drew Nixon was 1-for-4 with a run and two RBIs. Judson Seliskar had two runs, a hit and an RBI. Shane Nixon, Tory Nelson, Hunter Magnuson and Carter Dodd all had one hit each.