> Box Score
TUCSON, Ariz. – Southwest Minnesota State completed one of the biggest comebacks in team history—rallying from an 11-0 deficit—to earn a 19-17 victory over Malone University (Ohio) on Saturday night.
SMSU (1-2) rallied with 14 straight runs to take a 14-11 lead after five innings, but Malone regained the lead with four runs in the seventh to build a 17-15 advantage.
SMSU would score a single run in the seventh and then plated three runs in the eighth to earn the victory. Brandan Alfson's bases loaded walk, on a 3-2 pitch with two outs, proved to be the game-winning RBI.
Patrick Rients had a monster game for SMSU, finishing 4 for 5 with five RBIs and four runs scored. Austin Stubbs also had four hits and scored four runs, while Noah Bluth had three hits and three RBIs.
Jake Leighton (1-0) retired all six batters he faced in the eighth and ninth innings to record his first career win.
Malone (8-5), which beat SMSU twice on Friday, opened the game's scoring with two-out infield RBI single in the first and then added three more runs in the second to build an early 4-0 advantage.
The Pioneers then poured it on in the third pushing across seven runs to extend the margin to 11-0.
SMSU rallied in the third as Rients drilled a 3-run home run to right field and later in the inning added RBI singles by Bluth and Brian Redemske to cut the deficit to 11-5.
SMSU wouldn't go away and scored five more runs in the fourth inning to cut the lead to 11-10. Ryan Engels started the inning with a double and following an infield single by Derek Branson, Jason Minett blasted his first career home run to make the score 11-8. SMSU wasn't done as later in the frame Josh Cook came through with a two-run single to cut the lead to 11-10 after four innings.
The Mustangs made the comeback complete in the fifth as Branson lead off with a single and later came around to tie the game on an RBI single by Rients. Following a single by Stubbs, Bluth cleared the bases with a double to give SMSU a 13-11 lead. Two batters later Redemske smacked an RBI double to give SMSU a three-run lead.
SMSU relief pitcher Cody Curtis retired the first two batters in the sixth, but two singles, a walk and then a two-run single cut the Mustang lead to 14-13.
SMSU picked up one of the runs back in the bottom of the sixth as Minett started a two-out rally with a single—and after a wild pitch—came around to score on a single by Rients to give SMSU a 15-13 lead.
Malone rallied back and took advantage of three SMSU errors to score four runs, three unearned, to retake the lead at 17-15.
SMSU wouldn't go away in the seventh, as Cole VanderBeek made the score 17-16 with a clutch two-out single to score Bluth and cut the lead to one.
The Mustangs completed the comeback in the eighth as Minett lead off with a walk and quickly loaded the bases on singles by Rients and Stubbs. Following two strikeouts, Redemske coaxed a walk to tie the game, before Alfson gave SMSU the lead with his walk. Engels was then hit by a pitch to push the lead to 19-17.
Jimmy Callahan started for SMSU and pitched 2 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs on five hits with five walks and three strikeouts.
Southwest Minnesota State continues play on Sunday with a pair of games versus St. Cloud State (10:30 a.m. CDT) and Northern State (2 p.m. CDT).
