MINOT, N.D. – The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team clinched a spot in the upcoming Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament with an 8-7 game one win over Minot State and then completed the sweep with a thrilling 15-14 victory in game two on Tuesday at Corbett Field.
 
The conference tournament appearance will be the programs first since the 2014 season. SMSU improves to 27-12 overall, 19-10 NSIC, and has won six straight games.
 
The Mustangs, currently fifth place in the league standings, close the regular season at Legion Field in Marshall this Friday and Saturday with a three-game series versus fourth place Minnesota Crookston. The series is the final three home games for SMSU head coach Paul Blanchard. Friday's doubleheader begins at 1:30 p.m., while Saturday's single game starts at 12 p.m.
 
In the opener, Max Kalenberg led the Mustangs with three hits, including a pair of home runs, while Carter Petron fired 6 1/3 solid innings to earn the win on the mound. In the nightcap, Jake Tauer led the way going 4 for 4 with a home run, a double and a career-high seven RBIs. Tauer is the first Mustang since Ben Heichel in 2020, to rack up seven RBIs in one game.
 
In game one, SMSU jumped out to an early 4-0 lead and later led 8-3 in the seventh inning before holding on for the one-run victory.
 
SMSU struck in the first inning as Chase McDaniel doubled and scored on a run-scoring single by Owen Latendresse. The lead extended in the second behind six Mustang hits. Kalenberg started the scoring with a solo home run before Tauer delivered an RBI single to score Peyton Nash. Isaac Nett and McDaniel would both later add RBI singles to make the score 4-0.
 
Petron retired the first nine Beaver batters he faced until allowing two runs on four hits in the fourth inning making the score 4-2.
 
SMSU answered back in a big way in the fifth as Nett drilled a solo homer before Kalenberg launched a two-run shot over the left field wall to push the lead to 7-2.
 
SMSU led 7-3 in the seventh and picked-up a huge insurance run in the final frame as Kalenberg hit a one-out single to plate McDaniel, who started the frame reaching via an error.
 
The run was important as the Beavers rallied in the seventh to bring the tying run to the plate. Petron was relieved with one out in the seventh following a throwing error and with the Beavers trailing 8-4. Jackson Bates, making his third appearance of the season, entered with two runners on base and coaxed a pop out for the second out, but MSU's Derek Kay connected on a three-run home run to cut the deficit to 8-7. Bates answered however with a strikeout to end the game and earn his first career save.
 
Petron (3-2) allowed six runs (three earned) in 6 1/3, while recording five strikeouts and walking one.
 
SMSU cracked out 14 hits with McDaniel, Kalenberg and Keenan Wenzel all finishing with three hits.
 
In game two, MSU jumped on SMSU starting pitcher Logan McCray with four runs (two earned) in the first inning to build an early advantage.
 
SMSU came right back in the second as Kalenberg and Peyton Nash each reached with base hits before Tauer launched a two-out, three-run home run to right field for his second long ball of the season.
 
The Beavers (26-17, 17-14 NSIC) scored two runs in the second off Mustang pitcher Shay Endres to build a 6-3 lead.
 
Following a scoreless third for both teams, SMSU took its first lead of the game in the fourth with a huge two out rally. Matt Seykore started the rally with a single and was followed by a Tauer single and walk to Caleb Gardow. Nett cleared the bases with a double to right-center before Bates came through with a pinch-hit RBI single to plate Nett and put SMSU in the lead at 7-6.
 
The teams then started to exchange the lead as the Beavers would score two in the fourth to regain the lead, but the Mustangs answered once again in the fifth. Latendresse tripled to open the inning before scoring on a single by Kalenberg. Later in inning, Tauer smacked a two-run single to center and put SMSU in front 10-8.
 
MSU would score three runs on four hits in the fifth to regain the lead and then added a single run in the seventh to make the score 12-10.
 
SMSU mounted its comeback in the eighth with Bates, Latendresse and Kalenberg each working walks to load the bases before Nash hit a ground-ball single to left to tie the game at 12. Following a hit by pitch to Seykora to reload the bases, Tauer hit a double just inside the left field line to score two runs and make the score 14-12 in favor of SMSU.
 
MSU had its own two-out rally in the eighth putting together three hits and walk to score two runs and tie the game at 14-14. SMSU pitcher Jerod Cyrus came on with two runners on base and two outs before uncorking a wild pitch to put both runners in scoring position. The right-hander however got out of the jam with a fly out to keep the game tied.
 
In the ninth, Jaxon Haase singled with one out and moved to second after Latendresse was hit by a pitch. Both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch before Kalenberg was intentionally walked to load the bases. Nash stepped to the plate and hit a sac fly to center to score Haase and put the Mustangs in front at 15-14.
 
Kobe Lovell, the eighth SMSU pitcher of the game, coaxed a pair of fly outs before MSU's Dalin Ludlow singled to put the tying run on base. Moments later however, Lovell ended the game with a pick-off to first base for his first save of the season and seal the Mustang victory. The win went to Cyrus, who earned his first career victory.
 
SMSU closed the game with 13 hits with Tauer leading the way with four, while Kalenberg and Nash both finishing with two hits and three runs scored. Nash and Nett both finished with three RBIs.