MILROY, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State baseball earned its second straight four-game sweep in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play sweeping a doubleheader from Minot State on Friday by scores of 8-4 and 17-8 at Yankee Field.
SMSU, which swept four games from Bemidji State last weekend in Brandon, S.D., improves to 16-7 overall, 11-5 NSIC, while MSU falls to 12-12 overall, 7-9 NSIC.
The Mustangs finished the four-game sweep scoring a combined 56 runs and collecting 56 hits, which included 11 home runs. The series was slated to be played in Minot, N.D., this weekend but was relocated due to poor weather.
In the opener on Friday, MSU scored a run in the first and maintained the lead until the third inning when
Levi Lampert drilled a home run over the left-center field fence to tie the game at 1-1.
Jared Cortez followed with a double and later scored on an infield single by
Evan Behn to put the Mustangs up 2-1.
MSU quickly answered off SMSU starting pitcher
Carter Petron, who had allowed just one earned run in his first four starts of the season, with a two-run, two-out single by Brent Riddle to regain the lead at 3-2. The Beavers scored another run in the fourth with a two-out run-scoring infield base hit to build a 4-2 advantage.
SMSU rallied with a big five-run fifth inning to pull back in front.
Caleb Gardow started the rally with a leadoff base hit on a 3-2 pitch from MSU starting pitcher Conner Meldrim. Lampert walked to bump Gardow into scoring position before Cortez stroked an RBI single to right field to make the score 4-3. After a walk to
Cory Bantam loaded the bases, Behn lofted a sac fly to right field to plate Lampert and tie the game at 4-4.
Carter Lang put SMSU in the lead with an RBI bunt single to chase Meldrim from the game. After a strikeout for the second out,
Brock Woitalla came through with one of the biggest hits of the game connecting for a two-run double down the left field line to cap the scoring and extend the lead to 7-4.
SMSU added to the lead in the sixth with another big two-out clutch base hit. Lampert reached via a one-out double and came around to score two batters later with Bantam delivering an RBI single up the middle.
Petron (4-1) pitched the first four innings to earn the victory allowing four runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks.
Cameron Jensen fired three shutout innings to secure his third save of the season allowing three hits, two walks and one hit batter, while striking out three.
SMSU out-hit MSU 10-8 in the game with Lampert and Cortez each recording two hits, while Lampert scored three times.
In game two, Lampert jump-started the Mustangs in the top of the first with a first-pitch double before coming around to score on a run-scoring single to right field by Bantam. The lead moved to 2-0 in the second with Lampert hitting a two-out solo home run, his team-leading eighth of the season. He is the first SMSU player in belt a home run in four straight games since Austin Stubbs in 2015.
MSU countered with a three-run home run by Parker Rodgers off SMSU starter
Shay Endres in the home half of the second to take a 3-2 lead.
SMSU took advantage of wild MSU pitching in the third to pull back in front and maintain the lead for the remainder of the game. The Mustangs collected just one hit in the inning, but took advantage of two bases loaded walks, a hit by pitch with the bases loaded, while another run scored on a wild pitch to score four runs in the frame and build a 6-3 lead. Woitalla and
Henry Hammrich each worked bases loaded walks, while Gardow was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to garner RBIs.
SMSU added to the lead in the fifth with Gardow hitting a two-run bloop single to right field, while Bantam drove in Gardow with an RBI double to make the score 9-3 after five innings.
MSU started the sixth inning with back-to-back doubles to score a run and summoned SMSU relief pitcher
Jerod Cyrus into the game. The right-hander retired all three batters he faced in the inning to keep the lead at 9-4.
SMSU pushed across a run in the seventh with Gardow working a leadoff walk and later scoring on a sac fly by Cortez. Up 10-4 in the eighth, the Mustangs added another run as
Tyler Froland hit a pinch-hit RBI double to score Behn and make the score 11-4.
MSU would not go away and scored four runs off Cyrus in the eighth to pull to within 11-8. After allowing an RBI double to the first batter he faced in replace of Cyrus,
Bennett Knapper retired the final two batters he faced to keep the Mustangs in the lead at 11-8 after eight.
SMSU put the game away in the ninth with two big base hits. Lampert singled to start the inning and moved to second on a hit by pitch to Cortez. With one out and the infield drawn in after a double steal by Lampert and Cortez, Behn drilled a two-run single up the middle to give the Mustangs a 13-8 lead. With two out,
Nathan Wheeler was hit by a pitch while Woitalla was walked on four pitches to load the bases. Hammrich stepped to the plate and cleared the bases with a grand slam over the left field fence to blow the game open at 17-6. It was Hammrich's fifth home run of the season and SMSU's sixth grand slam in 2025.
SMSU collected 14 hits in game two with Bantam finishing with a career-high four hits and two RBIs. Hammrich and Lampert both finished with three hits, while Behn, Lampert and Woitalla all crossed the plate three times. Behn was hit by three pitches and walked once.
Endres (2-1) pitched five-plus innings with four strikeouts, one walk, while allowing four runs on six hits. Cyrus pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up four runs on two hits with three strikeouts. Knapper pithed 2/3 of inning, while
Cody Wichmann struck out a pair of batters in the ninth to seal the victory.
SMSU will have more than a week before returning to action on April 5-6 with a four-game series at Concordia-St. Paul.
