GAME 1 BOX | GAME 2 BOX

ST. CLOUD, Minn. –Jon Ellis belted his first career home run and Ben Bartling had a solid start, pitching into the seventh inning, to lead Southwest Minnesota State to a 6-2 victory in game two over No. 7 ranked St. Cloud State on Tuesday.  SCSU won the opener 4-1.

SMSU is now 14-7 overall, 4-2 NSIC, while SCSU is 22-7, 7-3 NSIC.  SMSU began the day ranked No. 6 in this week's NCBWA regional poll, with SCSU ranked No. 1.

Ben Korger led a seven-hit SMSU attack in game two with three hits and two runs scored.  Bartling, making his third start of the season, improved to 2-0, giving up two runs on seven hits with no walks in six-plus innings.  Corby McGlauflin pitched the final 2.1 innings to record his second save of the season.

SMSU scored the game's first run as Ben Korger led off the first inning with a double and came around to score on a ground out by Brian Ness.

The Mustangs added another run in the second as Chris Eichten walked and came around to score on a double by Mark Hanson.  SMSU had a great chance to add to the lead, but left the bases loaded following a strikeout.

The score remained 2-0 until the fifth, when Brian Ness singled and two batters later Ellis launched a two-run homer over the right field fence to push the lead to 4-0.

SCSU scored a run in the sixth and then loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh chasing Bartling, but relief pitchers Chris Koep and McGlauflin, worked out of the jam and limited the Huskies to just one run to keep SMSU with a 4-2 lead.

SCSU put together another rally in the eighth, loading the bases with two outs, but McGlauflin coaxed a fly out to end the threat.

SMSU picked up a pair of insurance runs in the ninth with Korger reaching on a single and moved to second on a walk to Jordon Kontz.  Both runners moved up on wild pitch, before Ness was intentionally walked.  Kyle Young walked with the bases loaded to make the score 5-2, before Eichten reached on an error for the second run of the inning to push the lead to 6-2.

McGlauflin walked a pair in the ninth, but ended the game with a foul out to seal the victory.

In the opener, Alex Alvarez took the loss for SMSU and dropped to 1-1 on the season.  The right-hander pitched 5.2 innings, allowing four runs on nine hits with two walks and one strikeout. 

The Mustangs finished with seven hits, with Kyle Young and Jon Ellis each collected a pair of hits.

SMSU had several chances to score the game's first run in the first four innings but couldn't come through with the clutch hit.  In the first, Adam Thygesen doubled with two outs and then was thrown out at the plate following a single by Ness.  In the second, Young and Ellis opened with singles putting runners on first and third.  Following a strikeout, a walk loaded the bases, but another strikeout and ground out ended the threat to keep the game scoreless.

In the fourth, Young and Ellis again opened with back-to-back singles, but Young was picked off and SMSU failed to score. 

SCSU broke through in the fourth inning, using a lead-off double and a pair of fly outs, to take a 1-0 lead.  The Huskies then added three big insurance runs in the sixth to build a 4-0 lead.

SMSU put together one final rally in the seventh, as Ellis and Steven Kremer both walked, before Tyler Flattum singled to load the bases with no outs.  Doug Mead hit a sac fly to cut the lead to 4-1, before Ben Korger lined into a game-ending double play. 

Southwest Minnesota State continues it conference-opening road trip on Friday afternoon beginning a four-game series at Concordia-St. Paul.  Friday's doubleheader begins at 1:30 p.m., while Saturday's twinbill is set for 12 p.m.