TUCSON, Ariz. – The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team opened its season on Saturday night with an 11-2 loss to Morningside University (Iowa) at the Kino Sports Complex.
 
Morningside, now 6-2 overall, came through with clutch hitting in the early stages of the game, collecting nine, two-out hits, in the opening five innings. MU finished the night with 11 two-out hits.
 
Morningside would finish the game with 16 hits, walked seven times and had four hit by pitches.
 
SMSU was limited to six hits with Jake Tauer leading the way with two hits and a walk.
 
Morningside took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second behind a two-out double and RBI single. MU put together another two-out rally in the third with a single, a wild pitch and a double to push the lead to 2-0.
 
Morningside would use another two-out, no one on base rally once again the fifth, using four straight hits, including a bad-hop RBI double to extend the lead to 4-0.
 
MU would add to the lead in the seventh plating five runs on two hits, while taking advantage of five walks and two hit by pitches to build a 9-0 advantage.
 
SMSU would get on the board in the home half of the seventh as Owen Latendresse tripled and scored on a ground out by Max Kalenberg.
 
Trailing 10-1 in the eighth, Jaxon Haase belted a solo home run for SMSU. The long-ball was the third in Haase's career.
 
Ryan Chmielewski made the start on the mound for SMSU and tossed 4 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on 11 hits with four strikeouts.
 
Jackson Bates made his pitching debut for the Mustangs and fired the final two innings recording six strikeouts. Four Mustang pitchers combined to strike out 13 MU hitters.
 
SMSU returns to the field on Sunday with a 10 a.m. CST match-up versus Adams State (Colo.) and will follow with a 2 p.m. CST game versus Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.).