BISMARCK, N.D. – Carter Petron fired eight strong innings, tying a career-high with 11 strikeouts, to help Southwest Minnesota State salvage a doubleheader split versus the University of Mary on Saturday night in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball. SMSU held on for a 7-6 victory in the nightcap after falling 1-0 in the opener.
 
The teams close the series on Sunday with a 12 p.m. game in Mandan, N.D. Saturday's doubleheader was played at the Sanford Sports Complex because a poor field conditions at Bismarck Municipal Ballpark.
 
In the nightcap, Petron (6-1) was dominate as he held the Marauders to a single run heading into the eighth inning with SMSU holding a 5-1 advantage. He retired the first two batters he faced in the eighth before the Marauders used three straight hits to pull to within 5-3. Petron worked out of the jam inducing a ground out to end the rally and close out his night. He allowed three runs on six hits with two walks and four hit batters. The 11 strikeouts tied his career-high he set two weeks ago in a victory at Minnesota Crookston.
 
SMSU closed the victory collecting 12 hits with Peyton Nash leading the way with three hits and one RBI. Isaac Nett, Max Kalenberg and Jake Tauer each finished with two hits, while Tauer drove in three runs.
 
Trailing 1-0 in the fourth innings, SMSU finally broke through with Nett starting the rally with a single and moving to third on a double by Jaxon Haase. Kalenberg and Tauer each drove in runs with ground outs, before a UMary fielding error on a botched run-down plated another run to make the score 3-1.
 
SMSU added to the lead in the seventh with Nett stroking a leadoff triple and later scoring on a sac bunt by Kalenberg. Tauer would later deliver a big two-out RBI single to plate Haase to push the lead to 5-1.
 
Leading 5-3 in the ninth, SMSU added two big insurance runs with Kalenberg and Tauer hitting back-to-back doubles to score one run before Nash drilled a sac fly to plate Tauer and give the Mustangs a 7-3 lead.
 
The runs were big in the ninth as UMary scored three runs off SMSU's Kobe Lovell and had the tying run at second base, but Lovell closed the game with a ground out and end SMSU's four-game losing streak.
 
In game one, the Marauders scored the only run of the game in the bottom of the first using a leadoff walk, a hit by pitch and following a double play, UMary's Noah Hill connected on a two-out RBI double.
 
SMSU was limited to four hits, struck out six times and hit into a pair of double plays.
 
Kolby Kiser (5-3) was the tough-luck losing pitcher for the Mustangs, allowing one run on five hits with two strikeouts, one walk and two hit by pitches.