Box Score

FAYETTE, Iowa – Southwest Minnesota State scored a season-high runs and collected a season-high 16 hits including belting four home runs and held on for a 16-14 victory over Upper Iowa in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball on Monday at Robertson Woods Field. The Mustangs won twice in the three-game series capturing their first NSIC series win of the season.
 
The three-game set was scheduled to be played in Marshall but was moved to Fayette due to field conditions.
 
SMSU (5-13, 4-9 NSIC) was led by Brady Lanoue, who was 3 for 4 with his first home run of the season, scored three runs and tied a career-high with four RBIs. Ben Heichel finished 3 for 4 with a home run, Connor Johnson belted a home run and had four RBIs while Jayden Fleck hit his team-leading fourth home run of the year and finished with two hits and three runs scored.
 
Johnson finished the game with two hits as did Tanner Strommen and Kip Gronholz. Gronholz, who was a late addition to the line-up following an injury to starting shortstop, Nathan Kuhn, also added two RBIs to help the Mustang offense.
 
Alex Jorgensen (1-0) the second of five pitchers used by SMSU picked up the victory with 1 2/3 innings of relief with three strikeouts. Teddy Broxterman earned his second save of the season including retiring the Peacocks in order in the ninth.
 
UIU (7-11, 4-9 NSIC), which hit three home runs in the game, scored in the top of the first on a two-run homer by Emmett Kulick.
 
SMSU answered in the second as Johnson blasted a three-run home and followed by a solo homer from Heichel to give SMSU a 4-2 lead.
 
UIU scored a run in the third, but SMSU answered again in the bottom half with a three-run frame. Fleck scored the inning's first run on a wild pitch, before Gronholz stroked a run-scoring single to plate Tanner Strommen. On the play Matt Bezdicek came around from first base following an error by the UIU centerfielder to extend the lead to 7-3.
 
After the Peacocks scored another run to make the score 7-4 in the fourth, Lanoue singled through the right side for a two-run single while Bezdicek would later hit a sac fly to push the margin to 10-4.
 
Both teams went scoreless in the fifth before UIU would cut into the deficit in the sixth plating two runs. SMSU would have another answer in the bottom of the frame as Lanoue belted a two-run homer while Johnson pushed across another run with a ground out to give SMSU a 13-6 lead.
 
UIU wouldn't go away and scored five runs in the seventh, highlighted by a three-run homer from Kulick to cut the SMSU lead to 13-11.
 
Fleck started an SMSU rally in the seventh with a lead-off homer while Bezdicek hit an RBI double and Gronholz added a run-scoring single to give SMSU a 16-11 advantage through seven.
 
The insurance runs were key as UIU scored three unearned runs in the eighth to cut the deficit to two runs. Broxterman entered the game with two outs and the tying run at the plate and after allowing a two-run double to make the score 16-14, he coaxed Kulick into a fly out to end the inning with the tying run at second base. Broxterman then sealed the win with a perfect ninth inning including two strikeouts to give SMSU the series win.
 
Southwest Minnesota State is scheduled to host Augustana on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at Alumni Field. The doubleheader could be moved to Sioux Falls due to field conditions in Marshall. A decision will be made on Tuesday. SMSU is also set to host Wayne State in a weekend three-game series at Alumni Field.