Box Score

TUCSON, Ariz. – The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team earned its second straight victory via run-rule pounding out a season-high 21 hits and scoring 20 runs for the first time since 2009 in earning a 20-9 victory over Bethany Lutheran College at the Kino Sports Complex on Wednesday afternoon.

SMSU improves to 4-5 overall, while BLC drops to 2-3.
 
Chase McDaniel had a career-high five hits and added three RBIs and three runs scored, while Owen Latendresse and Isaac Nett each drilled home runs for the Mustangs. Latendresse had a career-high three and a career-high RBIs, while Nett and Max Kalenberg both finished with three RBIs.
 
Cameron Jensen earned his first career victory tossing 3 2/3 innings of relief, including retiring the final seven batters of the game. He allowed two runs on three hits with five strikeouts.
 
Caleb Gardow, Keenan Wenzel, Robbie Smith, Jaxon Haase, Jake Tauer and Nett all finished the victory with two hits.
 
McDaniel is the first Mustang to register five hits since Shane Sellner in 2017.
 
SMSU jumped out to a great start in the top of the first plating four runs on three hits. Kalenberg hammered a two-run double to score the first runs of the game, before Tauer delivered a run-scoring single. Smith capped the scoring with a sacrifice bunt to score Kalenberg and give the Mustangs a 4-0 lead.
 
BLC would cut the deficit in half off of SMSU starter Theo Giedd with a pair of runs in the second, but SMSU answered with a monster third inning. Latendresse started the scoring with a two-run home run, his first of his career, and the first for the Mustangs this season. SMSU had four straight run-scoring hits later in the inning with Smith ripping a triple, Wenzel a bunt single, Gardow a double and McDaniel with a single to make the score 10-2. Kalenberg would push across the final run of the inning with a hit by pitch with bases loaded. The Mustangs finished the third with seven runs on seven hits and ended the frame stranding the bases loaded.
 
The Vikings added two runs in the home half of the third to cut the Mustangs lead to 11-4, but in the fourth McDaniel single through the right side to score a pair of runs and give the Mustang a 13-4 lead.
 
BLC wouldn't go away and scored three runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth to trim the SMSU advantage to 13-9.
 
The Mustang came through in a big way in the sixth as McDaniel collected his fifth hit of the game and was followed by a long home run from Nett over the right field wall. After Haase double, Latendresse hammered a run-scoring triple to center and extend the margin to 16-9.
 
SMSU put the game away in the seventh with four runs on three hits. Wenzel and Gardow started the rally with back-to-back doubles to score the first run before a ground out by Nett plated another run. Latendresse would later deliver a run-scoring single and on the play a BLC throwing error would push across another run and give SMSU its 20^th run of the game.
 
The last time SMSU scored 20 runs in a game occurred on April 24, 2009, versus Augustana. SMSU reached the 20-hit plateau for the first time since March 9, 2020, versus Bemidji State.
 
Giedd, making his first career start, tossed 3 1/3 innings with four strikeouts, while walking four batters. He allowed seven runs on six hits.
 
Southwest Minnesota State will have Thursday off before returning to the diamond on Friday to face Bemidji State in a non-conference game with first pitch at 10 a.m. CST