Minneapolis, MN - The MLC baseball team had its 2026 season opener against Minnesota Morris Tuesday morning for a nonconference match-up, playing each other on not just any neutral site, but instead played on the Minnesota Vikings turf at U.S. Bank Stadium.  

With the stadium all to themselves for about five hours, the schools got a doubleheader of 7-inning games in with the Cougars beating MLC 9-2 in game one and 6-0 in the second contest.

Minnesota Morris 9, MLC 2

In game one, MLC took a 1-0 lead to begin things as Aidan Berg walked in a run with the bases loaded and one out, bringing in Jackson Anderson. MLC had an opportunity to add on another run at least in the inning, but the Cougars came away with just the one run allowed. Minnesota Morris would tie it up 1-1 with an RBI single to left centerfield in the top of the second, and from there, both sides kept each other scoreless until Minnesota Morris put two across in the top of the fifth frame.

The top of the sixth inning was when the game broke loose for the Cougars, as they scored four runs, including a pair of doubles. MLC put another run on the board in the bottom of the sixth when Micah Herbst grounded out to first base, allowing William Salgat to slide home from third.

MLC used seven different pitchers for all seven innings of play in game one.

Minnesota Morris 6, MLC 0

In the second game of the doubleheader, the Knights did the same pitcher-by-committee approach, using six different pitchers for the entirety of the contest. Minnesota Morris made it 2-0 in the bottom of the first and received a three-hit, five-inning shutout from their starter, Travis Godfrey. The Cougars made it 5-0 in the bottom of the fifth, scoring three runs.

The three hits came from Anderson, Herbst, and a double from Carlos Walta off the right field wall.

MLC baseball will move on to a four-game series with Hamline University in Topeka, Kansas, with the first game starting at 12 p.m. on Saturday, February 28.