GAME 1 BOX | GAME 2 BOX

FAYETTE, Iowa – Brian Ness smacked a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning to lift Southwest Minnesota State to a 2-1 victory over Upper Iowa in game two of a doubleheader on Sunday and help SMSU earn a split of Sunday's twinbill.  UIU won the opener 6-2.

SMSU, playing its first conference series of the season, won three of four games from UIU.  SMSU is now 13-6 overall, 3-1 NSIC, while UIU is 8-15 overall, 4-4 NSIC.

UIU starting pitcher Tyler Beck held SMSU scoreless for eight innings, allowing just three hits, before the Mustangs rallied in the ninth.  Adam Thygesen led off the inning with a walk and went to second on a passed ball.  Ness then stepped up and hit his first homer of the season to give SMSU the lead.

Derek Skovbroten picked up the win in relief, pitching the final 1.2 innings, to move to 2-0 on the season.  Jeremy Schmidt started on the mound for SMSU and tossed a solid 7.1 innings, allowing no earned runs on five hits, with three strikeouts and two walks. 

SMSU finished game two with six hits, with Jordon Kontz, Kyle Young, Chris Eichten, Doug Mead, Thygesen and Ness each finishing with a hit.

In the opener, Upper Iowa took advantage of two SMSU errors in the second inning to score three runs, two of which were unearned, to build a 3-0 lead.

The Peacocks added another run in the fifth inning on a wild pitch by SMSU relief pitcher Steven Wehr.

SMSU rallied in the top of the sixth with one out as Jon Ellis walked and moved to third on a single by Tyler Flattum.  Steven Kremer cut the deficit in half with a two-run double, but a ground out and strikeout ended the threat for SMSU.

UIU then put the game away pushing across two runs off of Mustang reliever Landon Gacke to make the score 6-2.

Mustang starter Bryce Rippentrop suffered the loss and dropped to 2-3 on the season, allowing five hits, four runs, two earned, in 4.1 innings.  He struck out three batters and walked two.

The Mustangs recorded seven hits in the game.

Southwest Minnesota State continues its opening conference week road trip with a doubleheader on Tuesday at St. Cloud State (21-6, 6-2 NSIC) starting at 1:30 p.m.  SCSU is ranked in the top 10 in several national polls.