VALLEY CITY – Kahlil Tilbury and Connor Nelson combined on a two-hitter Friday afternoon as the Valley City State University baseball team split a doubleheader with conference leader Dakota State University.
 
Tilbury pitched six innings of one-hit ball, giving up just one run, and then Nelson put up three shutout innings to finish off a 3-1 VCSU victory in game two. Dakota State won game one, 11-1.
 
Dakota State entered the day tied for the conference lead with Bellevue University. Dakota State is now 29-10 overall and 12-2 in conference play. The Vikings move to 14-23 overall and 6-8 in the North Star Athletic Association.
 
Up next: The Vikings and Trojans rematch for another doubleheader Saturday at Charlie Brown Field in Valley City. First pitch Saturday is scheduled for 12 p.m.
 
GAME 1: Dakota State 11, VCSU 1
The Trojan offense took control of game one with three runs in the third inning and five more runs in the fourth inning en route to the 11-1 victory.
 
Dakota State's first hit of the game was a bases-loaded double by Ryan McDaniel, clearing the bases and giving the Trojans a 3-0 lead in the third inning. Jeremy Green's bases-loaded double in the fourth inning also scored three more runs and broke the game wide open.
 
VCSU's lone run came on a fifth-inning solo home run by Daegen Morcom.
 
Sam Tyrpa pitched a complete game for Dakota State, allowing just three hits and the one run. He walked only one and struck out eight.
 
Christopher Dietrich started on the mound for VCSU and took the loss after working 3 1/3 innings. He gave up just the one hit but walked five and hit two batters as he allowed six earned runs. Jay Mendez and Garrett Dykstra pitched in relief for VCSU.
 
Dakota State finished with seven hits in the game including a 3-for-4 game by McDaniel, who finished with four RBIs. Green was 2-for-4 with four RBIs and Cory Brownson went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
 
Morcom, Cody Wielgosh and Jaden Babiuk each had one hit for VCSU.
 
GAME 2: VCSU 3, Dakota State 1
Tilbury and Nelson put together a pair of strong pitching performances to lead the Vikings to a game two victory.
 
Tilbury gave up just one hit and an unearned run, picking up his third victory of the season with a six-inning start. The right-hander walked five and struck out 10 over his six innings. Left-hander Connor Nelson then slammed the door shut with three scoreless innings. Nelson allowed just one hit, walked one and struck out five batters for his fourth save of the season.
 
The Vikings struck first in the third inning after Dustin Mertz reached with a one-out single and then scored on Jamel Chabot's two-out RBI double. Dakota State tied the game in the top of the fourth, but the Vikings took the lead for good with single runs in both the fourth and fifth innings.
 
Jay Greuel's RBI single scored Daegen Morcom for the go-ahead run in the fourth inning, and then Tory Nelson had a pinch-hit RBI single in the fifth inning to plate Hunter Logan for a 3-1 lead.
 
Chabot had a 3-for-4 game to lead VCSU's offense, which finished with nine total hits. Mertz, Jaden Babiuk, Kaden Rozdeba, Nelson, Cody Wielgosh and Gruel all had one hit each.
 
Cameron DeMaria and Aidan Perry had Dakota State's two hits. Hunter Vikemyr started on the mound for Dakota State and took the loss, scattering eight hits and three runs over his 4 1/3 innings.