GAME 1 BOX | GAME 2 BOX

MANKATO, Minn. – No. 6/10 Minnesota State, Mankato rallied from a three-run deficit in game two to earn a 4-3 victory and sweep Southwest Minnesota State in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference doubleheader on Monday.  MSU also rallied in game one, scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, to earn a 6-4 victory in game one.

MSU, ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Central Region rankings, improves to 35-7 overall, 23-3 NSIC.  SMSU is now 22-21 overall, 12-16 NSIC.

In game two, SMSU snapped a scoreless game with a three-run sixth inning.  Ryan Engels opened the inning with a double, before moving to third on a single by Chris Eichten.  Jon Ellis then drilled a two-run triple to give SMSU a 2-0 lead and later scored on a sac fly by Brian Ness to push the lead to 3-0.

Aaron Johnson started on the mound for SMSU and held the Mavericks scoreless until the sixth inning.  MSU started the inning with the first four hitters reaching to cut the lead to 3-2 and had runners on second and third with no outs.  Johnson then struck out the next two hitters, but Nolan Johnson delivered a pinch-hit two-run single to give MSU a 4-3 lead.

SMSU picked up two hits in the seventh and then loaded the bases in the eighth, but the Maverick pitching staff was able to keep the Mustangs scoreless in both innings.

SMSU had a leadoff single in the ninth, but a fly out and double play ended the game.

Johnson (2-6) allowed four runs on eight hits, with four strikeouts and one walk.  Nate Dickhausen pitched the final 2.1 innings, allowing just one hit with two walks.

The Mustangs banged out 11 hits, with Chris Eichten finishing 2 for 4 with a run scored, while Adam Thygesen also was 2 for 4.  Ellis added two RBIs and also scored a run.

In game one, SMSU opened the game scoring a pair of runs on four hits in the first inning.  Ellis started the rally with a single and was followed by a double to left-center by Thygesen.  Brian Ness hit an RBI single, before Tyler Flattum made it 2-0 with a run-scoring double.  SMSU had runners on second and third with just one out, but failed to extend the lead.

MSU answered with an unearned run in the bottom of the first to cut the lead to 2-1, before SMSU answered an inning later with a sac fly by Ellis, scoring Ben Korger, who led off the second inning with a walk.

The Mavericks tied the game with a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the second to make the score 3-3.

The remained tied until the fifth, when SMSU regained the lead.  Engels, making his first start in conference play, singled to start the inning and moved to second on a sac bunt by Eichten.  Ellis singled to put runners on first and second, before Thygesen hit a grounder to shortstop that was ruled an error allowing Korger to score and give SMSU a 4-3 lead.

Bartling retired MSU in order in the fifth, but a single, a hit batter and fielder's choice loaded the bases to start the inning, before MSU's Lucas Skjefte gave MSU the lead with a two-run double.  The Mavericks added another run in the inning to push the lead to 6-4.

SMSU nearly rallied in the seventh, starting the frame with back-to-back walks, but a ground out and double play ended the game, giving MSU the victory.

SMSU, which out-hit MSU 8-6, was led by Ellis, who finished 2 for 3 with an RBI and run scored. 

Ben Bartling (3-1) suffered the loss for SMSU, tossing the first five-plus innings, allowing six runs, five earned with two strikeouts, one walk and four hit batters.

SMSU is scheduled to play at Bemidji State tomorrow with a doubleheader set for 1:30 p.m.