MARSHALL, Minn. – Southwest Minnesota State belted seven home runs in game two, tying a school single-game record, to earn an 18-13 victory over Minnesota Duluth and earn a split in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball at Legion Field on Wednesday afternoon. UMD cracked four home runs in the opener to earn an 18-6 victory.
 
SMSU moves to 22-12 overall, 14-10 NSIC, with the split, while UMD is now 16-23 overall, 9-17 NSIC.
 
Jaxon Haase had monster game for SMSU in game two, setting a career-high with five hits, including belting a pair of home runs, while scoring five runs and driving in three. Caleb Gardow hit a pair of two-run home runs in the second inning, while Chase McDaniel, Owen Latendresse and Keenan Wenzel each drilled a home run.
 
It's the fourth time SMSU has hit seven home runs in a game and first since 2006.
 
Latendresse, the fourth and final pitcher used in game two, earned his first victory of the season tossing 3 1/3 innings, while allowing one run on three hits with two strikeouts and one walk.
 
SMSU tied season-highs in both runs and hits in the nightcap with seven Mustangs securing multi-hit games. Wenzel and Latendresse each had three hits, while McDaniel, Gardow, Max Kalenberg and Jake Tauer all finished with two hits.
 
Leading 3-1 in the second inning, SMSU exploded for nine runs on eight hits with five home runs. Gardow started the scoring with a two-run home run, while McDaniel would later launch a three-run homer to push the lead to 8-1. Moments later, Latendresse drilled a solo shot for the program's first back-to-back home runs since the 2019 season. Wenzel made the score 10-1 with a two-out home run, while Gardow capped the scoring with his second two-run bomb of the inning to make the score 12-1.
 
SMSU added a single run in the third to extend the lead to 13-1, but UMD wouldn't go away and scored four runs in the fourth and two in the fifth to cut the deficit to 13-7.
 
The Mustangs countered with a huge two-out rally in the home half of the fifth as Kalenberg and Peyton Nash hit two-out singles before Wenzel drilled a clutch two-run double down the left field line to give SMSU a 15-7 advantage.
 
The Bulldogs however answered right back taking advantage of a throwing error, two hit by pitches and two walks to score five unearned runs and pull to within 15-12.
 
SMSU would have another answer of its own in the sixth as Haase drilled a two-run home run to center field to extend the lead to 17-12.
 
Latendresse, who recorded the final out of the sixth inning, worked a 1-2-3 seventh and a shutout eighth inning to keep SMSU with a five-run cushion.
 
Haase would close the SMSU scoring in the eighth with his second home run of the game before UMD added a single run in the ninth.
 
Logan McCray made his second start of the season for the Mustangs and tossed 3 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits with four strikeouts to earn a no-decision.
 
In the opener, UMD scored eight first inning runs behind a three-run homer and a two-run blast. SMSU came back with two in the home half of the inning on a bases loaded hit by pitch to Kalenberg and a sac fly by Nash. SMSU cut the UMD lead to 8-3 in the second behind a solo home run by Isaac Nett.
 
UMD would put the game away in the top of the third with nine runs on eight hits to cruise to the victory.
 
SMSU closed with 10 hits with Latendresse finishing 4 for 4, while Nett added a pair of hits. Nick Brown had a two-run double for the Mustangs in the seventh inning.
 
Carter Petron (2-2) suffered the loss giving up eight runs on five hits in 2/3 of an inning.
 
Tim Pokornowski pitched six innings to earn the win for UMD and was also 4 for 5 with three RBIs and three runs scored. In game two, Pokornowski was 4 for 5 with five RBIs and four runs scored.
 
SMSU will next return to the road this Saturday and Sunday with a three-game series at Northern State University.