MARSHALL, Minn. – Isaac Nett drilled a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to lift Southwest Minnesota State to a dramatic 10-9 victory over Minnesota Crookston in NSIC college baseball on Sunday at Legion Field.
The win for the Mustang gives them the series victory over the Golden Eagles after the teams split a doubleheader on Saturday.
The homer was the second of the game for Nett, who helped the Mustangs get the win after blowing leads of 7-0 and 9-3. Nett hit the game-winning homer off of UMC ace pitcher Jake Dykhoff, who was making just his second relief appearance of the season.
SMSU had plenty of chances to put the game away but stranded 14 runners on base to keep UMC in the game. UMC (15-23, 7-12 NSIC) scored five runs in the seventh and one in the ninth to rally and tie the game at 9-9. UMC had the go-ahead run at third with one out in the ninth but a ground out and strikeout kept the game tied.
SMSU out-hit UMC 14-11 with Nett finishing 3 for 4 with three RBIs and three runs scored, while
Robbie Smith tied a career-high with three hits and scored a pair of runs.
Jaxon Haase and
Chase McDaniel both added a pair of hits to help the SMSU attack.
SMSU (10-24, 3-19 NSIC) got off to a great start in the bottom of the first scoring five runs. Smith started the rally reaching via a two-base fielding error. After
Keenan Wenzel hit an infield single, Nett hammered an RBI double to score the first run. Haase followed with an infield single to plate Wenzel and make the score 2-0. With one out,
Owen Latendresse would get hit by a pitch to load the bases and moments later McDaniel slashed a 2-run double to left field and give SMSU a 4-0 advantage. The final run of the frame came across on a sac fly by
Peyton Nash.
The Mustangs added to the lead in the fourth as Nett launched his fifth home run of the season to start the frame. SMSU pushed across another run later in the inning as Haase raced home to beat the throw at the plate as
Nick Brown was caught in a rundown between second and third.
UMC countered with four hits to score three runs in the fifth to trim the deficit to 7-3, but SMSU answered in the home half.
Smith led-off the bottom of the fifth with an infield single and with two outs, Haase and Brown both walked to load the bases. Moments later Latendresse came through with a clutch 2-run single to push the lead to 9-3 after five.
The Golden Eagles put together a big inning in the seventh to pull to within one. The frame started with two walks, while the first run would score on a wild pitch. UMC would later add a 2-run double and a 2-run home run to cut the SMSU lead to 9-8.
Craig Lasley pitched a scoreless eighth inning to keep SMSU in the lead, but UMC worked a one-out walk in the ninth to summon
Kolby Kiser into the game for the Mustangs. After a single put runners on first and second, a pair of wild pitches tied the game at 9-9. Kiser worked out of the jam with a ground out and strikeout to set-up Nett's game-winning homer.
Ansen Dulas made the start on the mound for the Mustangs and pitched six-plus innings, allowing seven hits and six runs with seven strikeouts and three walks.
Kiser (1-6), the last of four SMSU relief pitchers, earned the victory.
SMSU continues its homestand on Wednesday taking on the University of Mary with a doubleheader starting at 1:30 p.m. at Legion Field.
