GAME 1 BOX SCORE
GAME 2 BOX SCORE
NSIC TOURNAMENT BRACKET
MARSHALL, Minn. - The Southwest Minnesota State baseball team closed out the regular season on Sunday with a sweep over the University of Mary on Sunday, winning 13-3 and 6-3.
The victory in Game 1 secured a spot in the upcoming NSIC tournament at Faber Field in St. Cloud, Minn., May 5-8.
SMSU will be making its 15th appearance in the NSIC tournament and is the only school in conference history to play in all 15 tournaments since it started in 1996. SMSU has won three tournament titles all-time, with the last coming in 2002. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid into the NCAA region tournament.
SMSU finished the regular season 26-16 overall, 22-10 NSIC and tied for fourth place in the NSIC standings with Minnesota Duluth and one-game behind third place St. Cloud State. The Mustangs will be the No. 5 seed in the NSIC tournament and will face No. 2 seed Winona State on Wednesday starting at 12 p.m. The University of Mary ends its season at 18-24 overall, 12-16 NSIC.
In Game 1, Derick Swenson paced SMSU going 4 for 5 with four RBI, including hitting a home run, while Bobby Zellmann finished 2 for 4 with a career-high three RBI. Matt Bauer and Tyler Fayden each added three hits, while Cody Curry had two hits and scored two runs.
Brad Haag tossed the first seven innings for SMSU and moved to 5-3 on the season. The right-hander, making his final home start, struck out a season-high seven batters, while walking none. Haag carried a shutout into the seventh inning, before allowing a three-run home run.
SMSU broke a scoreless tie in the third inning as Swenson belted his fifth homer of the season, a two-run shot over the left-center field fence to give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead.
It remained 2-0 until the sixth when SMSU took advantage of two UMary errors and wind-aided double. Bauer lifted a long fly ball that carried over the head of the center fielder for a lead-off double. An error and walk loaded the bases, before Bobby Zellman drilled a two-run single to left field that was misplayed and allowed the runner from first to score. Derick Swenson added an RBI single later in the inning to make it 6-0.
Mary added three runs on a homer in the seventh, but SMSU put the game away with four unearned runs in the seventh with Zellman and Swenson each recording RBI singles in the inning. The Mustangs then added three runs in the eighth on a solo homer by Fayden and a two-run homer by Tyler Jendro to end the game via the 10-run rule.
In the nightcap, Swenson again was red-hot, finishing 3 for 3 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Jendro was 2 for 3 and recorded the save on the mound. Brian Ness added a two-run homer that gave SMSU a lead it never gave back.
The Marauders took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on a solo home run by Tyler Liffrig, but SMSU came right back in the bottom of the fourth and took its first lead of the game. Swenson led off with a double and came around to score two batters later on a sac fly Matt Bauer to tie the contest. Brian Ness then put SMSU in the lead with a two-run homer to left-center, his fifth long ball of the season, to make it 3-1.
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The Marauders closed the gap to 5-3 with two runs in the sixth, but the Mustangs added an insurance run in the sixth on a two-out single by Jendro to score Chris Eichten.
UMary brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh, but Jendro induced a ground out to end the inning and record his third save of the season.
The victory made a winner out of SMSU starter Alex Alvarez, who pitched four innings, allowing just one run on five hits, while striking out two and walking one.
The two games were the final home games for Mustang seniors Matt Bauer, Brad Haag, Andrew Kinney, Nick Locnikar, Tyler Paulsen, Jared Pick, Adam Schrader, Derick Swenson and Bobby Zellmann.
