Game 1 Box
Game 2 Box
WAYNE, Neb. – The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team used strong pitching along with clutch hitting to earn a big doubleheader sweep over Wayne State College in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball on Friday afternoon at Overin Field.
The three-game series was originally scheduled to be played this Saturday and Sunday at Legion Field in Marshall. SMSU improves to 10-7 overall and 2-5 in the NSIC, while WSC drops to 8-13 overall, 2-5 NSIC.
Today marks the first time since the 2014 season SMSU has swept a doubleheader from WSC and will be looking for its first three-game sweep over WSC since 2014 in Marshall.
In game one,
Ryan Chmielewski tossed six strong innings, while
Caleb Gardow delivered a clutch three-run double in the fourth inning to help the Mustangs to the victory.
Chmielewski (1-1) struck out a season-high nine batters, while allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits with one walk.
Brady Brosz tossed the final inning with two strikeouts to record his third save.
Chase McDaniel led SMSU's seven-hit attack with two hits.
SMSU, the home team in the series, opened the scoring in the first inning behind a
Keenan Wenzel lead-off walk and a bunt single by McDaniel. Following a wild pitch to move both runners in scoring position,
Jaxon Haase scored the first run with a sac fly, while
Isaac Nett reached on a fielding error to plate the second run.
WSC scored an unearned run in the second to cut the deficit in half, but SMSU used a big two-out rally in the fourth to add to the advantage.
Max Kalenberg started the rally with a two-out single with
Peyton Nash following with another base hit. Following a walk to
Robbie Smith to load the bases, Gardow came through with a bases-clearing double to make the score 5-1.
The Wildcats scored a run in the fifth inning, but Chmielewski closed his outing with a quick 1-2-3 sixth to keep the Mustangs with a three-run advantage. WSC would push across an unearned run in the seventh, but Brosz was able to seal the victory and earn his third save of the season.
In game two, Nett opened the scoring in the home half of the first blasting a two-out solo home run. It was his fourth round-tripper of the season.
SMSU added to the lead in the second inning with
Brady Petron coming through with a two-run single to score Kalenberg and Wenzel.
WSC scored a single run off SMSU starting pitcher
Ansen Dulas in the third, but SMSU answered with a big third inning scoring five runs on five hits with four runs scoring with two outs.
Owen Latendresse started the scoring with a solo home run, his first homer of the season, and was followed by a Kalenberg double. With two outs,
Jake Tauer delivered a run-scoring single and after a pitching change Petron scored Tauer with an RBI double. McDaniel would later add an RBI single to and scored moments later on a WSC throwing error to plate another run and push the margin to 8-1.
WSC answered with two runs in the fourth to end Dulas' day, but SMSU relief pitcher
Logan McCray came on in relief in the fifth and shut down the Wildcats for the remainder of the game. McCray (1-1) collected his first career victory tossing a career-high five innings with one strikeout, three walks, one hit batter, while allowing just one hit.
SMSU closed the scoring in the seventh as Haase drilled a two-run homer to left field for his fourth of the season.
Dulas struck out two batters in four innings of work and allowed three runs on seven hits, while hitting two batters.
The Mustangs finished game two with 11 hits with McDaniel, Petron and Kalenberg all collecting two hits, while Petron drove in a career-high three runs. Kalenberg and Tauer both scored two runs apiece.
The two teams conclude the series on Saturday with a nine-inning game starting at 12 p.m. The teams have played 14 consecutive times in Wayne since the 2018 season.
