GAME 1 BOX SCORE
GAME 2 BOX SCORE

WINONA, Minn. - Brian Ness smacked a pair of home runs and drove in seven RBI, while Tyler Fayden collected five hits to lead Southwest Minnesota State to a 16-3, seven-inning victory over No. 30 Winona State in Game 1 of a doubleheader in Winona, Minn.

Winona State won Game 2 11-2, taking advantage of seven SMSU errors.

SMSU, which is ranked No. 8 in this week's NCAA region rankings, is now 23-15 overall, 19-9 NSIC.  Winona State, ranked third in the region rankings, is now 31-11, 21-7 NSIC.

In the opener, Ness, making just his second start since April 10, drilled a three-run homer in the sixth inning to snap a 3-3 tie and SMSU never looked back.  The Mustangs entered the sixth inning trailing 3-1, but score five runs in the sixth, six in the seventh and four more in the eighth.

Fayden finished 5-for-5 with four runs scored and two RBI, recording his second five-hit game of the season.

SMSU scored the game's first run in the fifth inning, as Fayden doubled and later came around to score on a fielder's choice by Tyler Jendro.

Jared Pick, who tossed one inning of relief to earn the victory, entered the fifth inning in relief of starter Tyler Paulson, with the game tied at 1-1 and with runners on first and third and no outs.  Pick walked the first batter he faced and then allowed a single to put WSU in a 2-1 lead.  Down a run and with the bases loaded and still no outs, Pick induced a double play to allow one run and then closed the inning with a fly out to keep the score close at 3-1.

In the sixth, Derick Swenson led off with a single and moved to second on an error.  Cody Curry then singled to left and Swenson came around to score on a fielding error by the left fielder.  Andrew Kinney then tied the game on a single to right field.  Following a strikeout by Matt Bauer, Fayden singled and was followed one batter later by Ness, who smacked his third homer of the season, to make the score 6-3.

SMSU added to the lead in the seventh as Kinney belted a three-run homer to push the lead to 9-3.  Bauer the doubled and scored on an RBI single by Fayden.  Ness then connected on his fourth homer of the year and second of the game, to extend the margin to 12-3.

Bauer and Fayden had run-scoring singles in the eighth, while Ness capped the scoring with a two-run double.

In Game 2, Bauer gave SMSU an early 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the top of the first inning. 

WSU scored an unearned run in the bottom of the first and then pushed across a single run in the third to take a 2-1 lead.  The Warriors then opened the game up scoring six runs in the fourth inning and never looked back.

The Mustangs' final run came in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Cody Curry.

Bauer led the SMSU offense collecting two of the team's five hits.

Chris Koep, making his second start of the season, suffered the loss for the Mustangs allowing seven runs (six earned) and seven hits in 3.2 innings with two strikeouts.

Southwest Minnesota State is currently in fourth place in the NSIC standings with four games remaining.  The Mustangs will host the University of Mary in a four-game series this weekend at Alumni Field.  SMSU can secure a spot in the six-team NSIC tournament on May 5-8 in St. Cloud, Minn., with two victories.  SMSU can move as high as second place in the final standings depending on this weekend's results.