TUCSON, Ariz. – The Southwest Minnesota State baseball team split a pair of games on Sunday at the Tucson Invitational played at the Kino Sports Complex, dropping a 10-8 decision to Rockford (Ill.) in its first game of the game before bouncing back to earn an 11-1 victory in seven innings over Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) on Sunday night.
In the victory over DWU,
Levi Lampert started the scoring for the Mustangs blasting a home run, his first as a Mustang, to open the bottom of the first. SMSU would add two more runs in the inning taking advantage of two hit by pitches and a fielding error to build a 3-0 lead after one.
In the third, SMSU used a two-out rally to double the lead to 6-0. With two outs,
Cory Bantam was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on a base hit by
Tyler Froland.
Jared Cortez followed with a single and following another wild pitch, both Froland and Cortez came around to score on a two-run single by
Chuck Hackett.
In the fifth inning, SMSU loaded the bases behind a walk to Froland, a single by Hackett and walk to
Brady Petron. With two outs, Lampert hit a high pop-up behind second base that dropped, allowing all three runners to score and push the lead to 9-0.
DWU would push across an unearned run in the sixth inning, but SMSU answered with two runs in the seventh to end the game via run-rule. Cortez reached on a fielding error before racing around the bases on an RBI triple by Hackett. Moments later,
Brady Petron lofted a sac fly to left field to plate Hackett and end the game.
Carter Petron (1-1) started on the mound and allowed one hit in five innings with six strikeouts, while walking seven and hitting two.
Bennett Knapper fired the final two innings with three strikeouts and two walks, while allowing an unearned run.
Hackett finished 3 for 4 with three RBIs and two runs to lead the Mustang offense with Lampert collecting two hits and four RBIs.
In the loss to Rockford, the Mustangs broke a scoreless game with a big second inning.
Nathan Wheeler started the rally with his first collegiate hit and moments later was followed by a 2-run home run by
Carter Lang. After
Eli Gibbs walked,
Caleb Gardow drilled an RBI double to left field to extend the lead to 3-0. With one out, Lampert singled while
Henry Hammrich was hit by a pitch to load the bases. With two outs,
Evan Behn came through with a clutch bases clearing double to push the lead to 6-0.
RU rallied with single runs in the second, third and fifth innings to cut the deficit to 6-3 after five innings. The Regents then took advantage of a two-out error by the Mustangs in the sixth to plate two runs and pull to within 6-5.
Owen Latendresse drilled a solo home run to start to seventh for the Mustangs and make the score 7-5. SMSU added another run in the frame as Wheeler reached on a fielder's choice, advanced to third on two wild pitches and scored on a ground out by Lang to push the advantage to 8-5.
RU would not go away in the seventh belting a solo home run to start the inning and then added three more hits and took advantage of an error to plate three unearned runs and take a 9-8 lead.
After SMSU stranded a runner at third in the eighth, RU scored another unearned run in the bottom of the frame to expand the margin to 10-8.
Jameson Quinn started for SMSU and pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing five runs (three earned) with seven strikeouts, three walks and one hit by pitch.
Austin Dent pitched one inning of relief and allowed three hits and three runs (one earned), while
Cody Wichmann (0-1) was the tough-luck loser giving up two unearned runs and three hits in 1 1/3 innings with one strikeout and one walk.
Latendresse and Behn led SMSU's nine-hit offense with two hits each, while Lang finished with three RBIs.
SMSU continues play at Tucson Invitational on Monday with a 3:30 p.m. CDT game versus Park University Gilbert (Ariz.) at the Kino Sports Complex.
