TUCSON, Ariz. – The Southwest Minnesota State baseball team earned its fourth straight victory on Monday night to move to 6-6 on the season with an 11-3 victory over Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) at the Kino Sports Complex.
Shay Endres (1-0) fired a career-high seven innings with a career-high eight strikeouts earn the victory for the Mustangs. He allowed three runs on eight hits, while walking two.
SMSU, which trailed 2-0 in the third inning, rallied behind a rare inside-the-park grand slam by
Chase McDaniel to highlight a five-run third inning.
DWU scored a run in the top of the first taking advantage of a hit by pitch, a walk and two-out run-scoring single to take an early advantage. The lead moved to 2-0 in the second behind a single, sac bunt, balk and RBI ground out.
SMSU took the lead for good in the third with the five-run frame. Bennet Knapper coaxed a walk to begin the inning with
Brady Petron following with a hit by pitch before a single by
Peyton Nash loaded the bases. McDaniel then drilled a line drive to center field for a base hit that was lost in the sun by the DWU center field with the ball rolling all the way to the fence for an inside-the-park grand slam. It was the programs first inside-the park home run since Jarred Carlson versus Bemidji State in Tucson on March 11, 2015. SMSU was not finished scoring in the frame as
Owen Latendresse singled and walks to
Jaxon Haase and
Max Kalenberg loaded the bases before
Keenan Wenzel brought in a fifth run with a sac fly to give the Mustangs a 5-1 lead.
DWU (4-7) was able to plate a run with the help up a sun-ball single to cut the deficit to 5-3 in the top of the fourth.
SMSU expanded on the lead in the fifth with Kalenberg and
Bennett Knapper hitting singles, before a hit-by pitch to Petron loaded the bases. Nash walked to drive in the first run before McDaniel smacked a run-scoring base hit. SMSU pushed across its final run of the frame behind a bases loaded walk to
Isaac Nett to make the score 8-3.
SMSU pushed across another run in the sixth with Wenzel drilling a one-out triple and Petron coming through with a clutch two-out RBI single.
The Mustangs plated two more in the seventh with
Cody Wichmann laying down an RBI bunt single and Knapper working another based loaded walk to push the lead to 11-3.
Brady Brosz and
Will Hoernemann each tossed a scoreless frame to seal the victory.
SMSU out-hit DWU 14-9, with Latendresse and Nash both recording three hits, while McDaniel had a pair of hits and finished with five RBIs.
SMSU continues play on Tuesday taking on Walsh (Ohio) with first pitch slated for 10:30 a.m. CST.
