Strong Pitching Leads Upper Iowa to Sweep Over Mustangs

Game One Box

Game Two Box

MARSHALL, MINN.: Upper Iowa University pitchers Brian Solemsaas and Zach Raff combined to limit Southwest Minnesota State to one run and eight hits in two games to help lead the Peacocks to a doubleheader sweep over the Mustangs in Northern Sun Conference action in Marshall.

Solemsaas tossed a three-hit shutout in the opening game to give UIU a 3-0 win while Raff held SMSU to five hits as UIU earned a 7-1 victory in game two. The two right-handed pitchers combined to throw just 160 pitches in the two games. Solemsaas threw 79 pitches including 56 for strikes while Raff tossed 81 pitches including 52 strikes.

SMSU now falls to 16-14 overall and 6-8 in the NSIC. SMSU is on a current five-game losing streak after defeating Concordia in game one of a doubleheader on Monday at the Metrodome. During the five-game losing streak SMSU has held a lead for just one half inning. Upper Iowa improves its record to 18-22 overall and 14-6 in the NSIC.

Game one was a pitchers dual as Solemsaas and Mustang starter Adam Schrader kept the game scoreless with four shutout innings. UIU finally broke the scoreless tie with a two-run fifth inning. Lucas Wilsing lead off the inning with a double and eventually scored on a fielder's choice by Seth Fox. With two outs, Kreston Albright delivered a single to score Fox and push the lead to 2-0.

Upper Iowa capped off the scoring in the sixth inning on a solo home run by Brock Spangenberg.

SMSU threatened in the seventh inning as Greg Laughlin walked to lead off the inning and after a foul out by Andrew Kinney moved to second on a single by Jake Munsch. But Solemsaas came through with another big pitch as he coaxed Lex Reinke to hit into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.

Schrader fell to 2-3 with the loss allowing seven hits and three runs in 5.1 innings. He struck out five batters and walked two.

In game two SMSU scored first putting together its lone run in the second inning. Kinney and Munsch started the inning with back-to-back singles but Raff picked up two quick outs by getting Reinke to hit into a 3-6-1 double play. Derek West though came through for the SMSU offense drilling a two-out single to left field scoring Kinney but that was all the offense the Mustangs could muster in the nightcap.

Upper Iowa took the lead in the top of the third with a two-out rally scoring on an RBI single and taking advantage of three wild pitches by Mustang starting pitcher Aaron Johnson. The score remained 2-1 in favor of UIU until the fifth inning when the Peacocks put the game away scoring four runs on three hits and taking advantage of one SMSU error. Three of the runs scored in the inning were unearned.

Johnson suffered the loss for SMSU tossing 4.1 innings allowing four hits, three earned runs while striking out four and walking four.

SMSU will look to snap the losing streak tomorrow as the two teams conclude the series with a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. at Alumni Field.

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