GAME 1 BOX | GAME 2 BOX

CROOKSTON, Minn. -  Southwest Minnesota State used a pair of strong pitching performances to sweep Minnesota Crookston in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference doubleheader on Saturday and complete a crucial four-game sweep. SMSU won Saturday's opener 3-0 and then cruised to a 10-2 victory in game two.
 
The four-game sweep keeps SMSU (21-20, 12-13 NSIC) in the race for qualifying for the eight-team NSIC tournament. The Mustangs close the regular season this upcoming week with six home games at Alumni Field.
 
Jimmy Callahan (6-1), who was coming off his shortest start of the season (3.0 innings) on Tuesday, fired his second shutout of the season in the opener, allowing just three hits and two walks and tying a season-high with seven strikeouts.
 
The game was scoreless until the sixth when SMSU was finally able to break through on UMC (1-41, 0-30 NSIC) starter Trevor Buttermore. The Mustangs left seven runners on base in the first four innings, including two in both the third and fourth innings. With one out in the sixth, Jason Minnet walked and scored on an RBI triple by Sam Haas. Tanner Neale then followed with a run-scoring single to give SMSU a 2-0 lead.
 
SMSU added an insurance run in the seventh on an RBI single by Jon Ellis to score Patrick Rients.
 
The Mustangs finished game one with seven hits.
 
In game two, SMSU jumped on the board quickly in the first as Jordon Kontz was hit by a pitch with one out and moved to second on a single by Rients. Austin Stubbs pushed across SMSU's first run with an RBI single, before Minnet hit a sac fly later to give the Mustangs a 2-0 advantage.
 
The lead would expand in the second due to the big bat of Rients. Neale started the rally with a leadoff walk, before Ben Korger reached on a one-out error to put runners on first and second. Following a fly out, Rients made the error prove costly, as he launched his team-leading 13^th homer of the season to give SMSU a 5-0 lead.
 
SMSU would put the game away in the fifth inning, pushing across four runs on five hits. Ellis started the frame with a double and scored on a double by Haas. Ryan Engels brought home Haas with an RBI single, before Korger drilled an RBI double and Kontz knocked home another run with an infield single to make the score 9-0.  
 
SMSU would score an unearned run in the seventh to build a 10-0 lead and was one out away from winning via run-rule in the seventh, but UMC plated a run with a two-out single to extend the game.
 
Rients led SMSU's 11-hit attack in game two going 2 for 4 with three RBIs and two runs scored, while Kontz and Engels both added two hits apiece.
 
Steven Wehr (4-3) threw a strong seven innings to earn the victory, scattering six hits and allowing one run with six strikeouts and one walk.
 
Southwest Minnesota State will face Bemidji State in a key conference doubleheader starting at 1:30 p.m. at Alumni Field. BSU, currently in eighth place, is a half-game ahead of SMSU in the standings.