MAYVILLE, N.D. – Christian Ramirez hit a go-ahead 2-run home run in the 12^th inning Saturday afternoon as the Valley City State University baseball team completed a doubleheader sweep at Mayville State.
 
Tied 6-6 in the 12^th inning of game two, Ramirez drilled the first pitch he saw over the left-field fence for the game-winning home run. The Comets put the tying run on the base with two outs in the bottom of the 12^th, but Riley Resnick induced a pop up to end the game and secure the sweep.
 
VCSU won game one 4-1 behind a complete game pitching performance by Hunter Magnuson.
 
Valley City State is now 16-27 overall and 8-10 in conference play. Mayville State drops to 11-34 overall and 6-15 in the conference. The Vikings are now in a three-way tie for third place in the NSAA standings with both Waldorf and Viterbo.
 
Up next: Valley City State and Mayville State play another doubleheader Sunday at 1 p.m. in Mayville.
 
VCSU 4, Mayville State 1
Hunter Magnuson went the distance in the 7-inning opener on Saturday. He gave up just one run and five hits while striking out 10 Comets over his seven innings of work.
 
Dustin Mertz hit a go-ahead 3-run home run in the fourth inning, giving the Vikings a 3-1 lead. Cody Wielgosh added an RBI single in the sixth inning for an insurance run. It was the fifth home run of the season for Mertz, who leads the team in both home runs (5) and RBI (26).
 
VCSU finished with four runs on six hits. The Comets scored their one run on five hits. Neither team committed an error.
 
Jay Greuel had a pair of hits for VCSU while Mertz, Wielgosh, Jaden Babiuk and Daegen Morcom all had one hit each.
 
VCSU 8, Mayville State 6 (12 innings)
The Vikings persevered to a win in game two, losing leads in both the 9^th and 11^th innings before finally closing the door in the 12^th inning after Ramirez's go-ahead home run.
 
Kellen Scruggs hit a 2-run home run in the second inning to give the Vikings an early 2-0 lead. RBIs by Cody Wielgosh and Jay Greuel pushed the Vikings lead to 4-1 in the seventh inning.
 
Viking starter Takao Cookson was on cruise control, giving up just three hits and one run over 7 1/3 innings. He walked only two and left the game with a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. Connor Nelson came on and stranded a pair of runners on base in the eighth inning, preserving the lead.
 
Jaden Babiuk plated an insurance run for VCSU in the ninth, but the Comets though would rally in their half of the inning. The Comets strung together five hits in the inning off Nelson, eventually tying the game at 5-5 and forcing extra innings.
 
The Vikings scored a single run in the 11^th inning, but the Comets again answered in the bottom half to tie the game at 6-6.
 
Ramirez's 12^th-inning home run finally proved to be enough for VCSU to finish off the sweep.
 
Both teams had 11 hits in the game. Mayville committed one error while VCSU again played an error-less game.
 
Babiuk went 3-for-6 with an RBI, and Scruggs was 2-for-4 with a double and a home run. Six other Vikings had one hit each.
 
Riley Resnick earned the win in relief, pitching the final 1 2/3 innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out four. Eli Chabot also pitched 1 2/3 innings in relief.