Box Score

MANDAN, N.D. – The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team had its season come to a close today with a 7-6 loss in 15 innings to Wayne State College in an elimination game at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference at Mandan Memorial Ballpark on Thursday afternoon.
 
SMSU, the tournament's No. 5 seed, ends the season with a record of 27-17. The game was also the final in the dugout for SMSU head coach Paul Blanchard, who retires after earning 591 victories in 27 seasons.
 
WSC, the tournament's No. 8 seed, improves to 25-25 and will play another elimination game later Thursday night.
 
The game featured many twists and turns, including a single-season record tying base hit and later a dramatic game-tying home run for the Mustangs in the ninth inning.
 
SMSU, which swept a three-game series at Wayne State in March, opened the game's scoring in the bottom of the first as Jaxon Haase singled, moved to third on a double by Chase McDaniel and scored on an RBI single by Owen Lantendresse.
 
The score moved to 2-0 in the third with Isaac Nett, McDaniel and Latendresse each collecting base hits to load the bases before Max Kalenberg drove home the game's second run with a sac fly.
 
The bunt single by McDaniel in the third was his 70^th hit of the season tying the program single-season record set by Colby Pack in 2005.
 
SMSU starting pitcher Ansen Dulas was outstanding as he fired five shutout innings to begin the game, including retiring 13 straight batters from the first to fifth inning. WSC was finally able to break free in the sixth behind a lead-off home run by Chase Douglas, a single, a walk and two errors to plate three runs (two unearned) and take a 3-2 lead.
 
The score remained 3-2 until a wild ninth inning for both teams. Douglas hit a two-out RBI double to give the Wildcats a 4-2 advantage, but the Mustangs didn't quit and rallied to tie the game.
 
WSC starting pitcher, Nathan Anderson, was dominate into the ninth, including retiring 16 straight Mustangs from the third through eighth inning. However in the ninth, Latendresse opened the frame with a double and moments later Kalenberg belted a game-tying two run home run over the left field wall to tie the game at 4-4.
 
SMSU had several chances to push across the game-winning run in extra innings, but left two runners on base in both the 11^th and 12^th inning and another in the 13^th inning.
 
WSC was finally able to break the tie with in the 15^th inning using a lead-off walk, a one-out double and an intentional walk to load the bases. Tommy Roland worked a bases-loaded walk on a 3-2 pitch off relief pitcher Latendresse to break the tie, before another run scored on a wild pitch and a final was plated on an RBI single to make the score 7-4.
 
SMSU once again fought back in the bottom of the frame as McDaniel worked a one-out walk and moved to second on a two-out single by Kalenberg. Jake Tauer stepped to the plate and drilled a two-run double off the right fence—just missing a home run—to pull the Mustangs to within 7-6, but a fly out ended the comeback attempt.
 
Dulas pitched 8 1/3 innings for the Mustangs and allowed just four runs (two earned) on five hits with six strikeouts, one walk and hit by pitch. Carter Petron fired 2 2/3 shutout innings, with two strikeouts, while Brady Brosz and Kobe Lovell also pitched and did not allow a run. Latendresse (1-1) suffered the loss allowing three runs on two hits in 2 2/3 innings.
 
SMSU out-hit WSC, 15-10, with Latendresse finishing 4 for 7 with a run scored and an RBI. Kalenberg, who closed the season reaching base in 29 straight games, was 3 for 5 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Haase and McDaniel each collected two hits, while Nett, Tauer, Brady Petron and Matt Seykora all finished with one hit.
 
Douglas led the Wildcats' offense finishing 3 for 7 with two RBIs. WSC's Braden Cannon was outstanding in relief for tossing 5 1/3 shutout innings and allowing just three hits with two strikeouts. He pitched five shutout innings from the ninth through 13^th inning, before returning to the mound in the 15^th to record the final out of the game.
 
Today was the final game for Mustang seniors, Jackson Bates, Craig Lasley, Robbie Smith and Keenan Wenzel.