MARSHALL, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State baseball team closed its season on Wednesday, suffering a pair of tough 6-2 loss to regionally ranked Augustana University in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action at Legion Field.
AU, which is second in the league standings and ranked No. 7 in this week's NCAA Central Region rankings, broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning in game one and then used a five-run eighth inning to rally and earn the victory and complete the sweep.
AU is now 35-12 overall, 28-6 NSIC, while SMSU closes its season at 20-28, 10-26 NSIC.
In game two, SMSU starting pitcher
Ryan Bell was outstanding, limiting the Vikings to one run on five hits through seven innings as the Mustangs held a 2-1 lead. However, in the eighth, the Viking struck for five runs with a solo home run and a game-deciding grand slam. Nate Soelter hit the first pitch of the eighth for a solo home to tie the game before Jake Lundquist belted a grand slam with one out to put AU in the lead at 6-2.
SMSU scored its two runs in the bottom of the first inning with
Levi Lampert smacking a leadoff double before
Jared Cortez drilled a two-run homer over the left field wall to make the score 2-0.
After three of the first four batters collected hits, the SMSU offense was held in check for the remainder of the game as three AU relief pitchers held SMSU to just two hits in the final eight innings.
Lampert, Cortez,
Carter Lang,
Caden King and
Jacob Merrill each had one hit in the nightcap.
Bell (5-4) suffered the loss allowing six runs on 10 hits with five strikeouts and one walk.
Ryan Dalager tossed 2/3 of inning, while
Zach Hoehn tossed the ninth inning.
In game one, AU used a two-out infield RBI single in the second and a two-out solo home run in the third off SMSU starting pitcher
Jameson Quinn to build a 2-0 advantage.
SMSU rallied to tie the game with single runs in the third and fourth innings. King started the third inning with a single and later scored on a clutch two-out, run-scoring double by Lampert to trim the deficit to 2-1. The Mustangs would tie the score in the fourth with Lang opening the frame with a double and coming around to score on a two-out RBI single by King.
AU threatened to regain the lead in the top fifth, putting two runners on and forcing a pitching change with one out.
Cody Wichmann entered the game and coaxed a 6-4-3 double play to end the rally and keep the game tied.
AU starting pitcher Mariano Gomez (8-0), who is now 17-0 in his three-year Viking career, retired the Mustangs in order in the fifth to keep the game tied.
The Vikings broke the game open in the top of the sixth scoring four runs on three hits, one walk and one error.
Wichmann (3-4) suffered the loss allowing four runs (three earned) in one inning with one walk and two hits allowed.
Dylan Webb tossed the final 1 2/3 innings allowing zero runs on three hits.
SMSU was limited to four hits in the opener with King collecting a pair hits, while Lampert and Lang each had one hit.
Today marked the final games for 13 Mustang seniors.
