Box Score

MARSHALL, Minn. – Bemidji State racked up 17 hits and held off a Southwest Minnesota State rally attempt to earn a 10-9 victory in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball on Sunday at Legion Field.
 
BSU (4-21, 3-17 NSIC) snapped an 8-8 game with single runs in the seventh and eighth innings to salvage a victory in the three-game series following two SMSU wins on Saturday.
 
SMSU (9-15, 7-14 NSIC) finished the game with 13 hits and struck out just twice, but the BSU pitching staff coaxed the Mustangs into 22 fly outs. In fact, the final 11 outs recorded by BSU came via fly out or line out as SMSU suffered its eighth one-run loss of the season.
 
Derek Smith and Matt Bezdicek each finished 3 for 4 to pace the SMSU offense with Bezdicek scoring four times. Chase McDaniel had a pair of hits and two RBIs, while Max Kalenberg had a hit and three RBIs.
 
SMSU opened the game's scoring in the bottom of the first as Bezdicek doubled with two outs and was followed by single to left field by Jake Hendricks to put the Mustangs up 1-0.
 
BSU pushed across four runs in the top of the second, taking advantage of a bad-hop infield single. With two outs, the Beavers used a double, a walk and back-to-back singles to build a 4-1 advantage.
 
SMSU cut into the lead in the fourth inning as Kip Gronholz stroked a two-out run-scoring single to plate Derek Smith to trim the deficit to 4-2.
 
The Mustangs used a big fifth inning to reclaim the lead, plating four runs on four hits and two walks. Brodie Smith and Kuhn started the rally with back-to-back walks before Bezdicek loaded the bases with an infield single. Hendricks brought in the first run with a sac fly and was followed by a Derek Smith double to tie the score at 4-4. It was Smith's seventh straight hit in the past two games. Kalenberg put the Mustangs in the lead with a two-run single to make the score 6-4. SMSU would later load the bases, but a fly out limited the damage for BSU.  
 
The lead however was short-lived as the Beavers answered back in the top of the sixth with four runs on five hits to go back in the lead at 8-6.
 
SMSU counter once again in the home half of the sixth as Kuhn and Bezdicek reached via base hits and with one out Derek Smith walked to load the bases. Kalenberg cut the deficit to 8-7 with a sac fly before McDaniel came through with a clutch two-out RBI single to score Bezdicek and tie the game at 8-8 after six innings.
 
BSU went back in front in the seventh with a pair of two-out singles to push across a run and make the score 9-8. Following a scoreless seventh for SMSU, BSU added to the lead with another run in the eighth to build a 10-8 advantage.
 
SMSU took advantage of a BSU fielding error in the eighth to pull within one run as McDaniel bounced a two-out single through the right side to score Bezdicek.
 
 
Jake Wensmann made the start on the mound for the Mustangs and lasted 5 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs on 10 hits with five strikeouts while walking one. Spencer Schroeder (1-1) followed and allowed two runs on five hits in 1 2/3 innings, while suffering the loss.  
 
Southwest Minnesota State will now begin a string of seven straight games on the road beginning on Wednesday with a doubleheader at Minnesota Crookston. The games could be moved to Thursday depending on COVID protocols at UMC.