The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team fell to Upper Iowa 6-2 in game one of a four game series on Sunday, April 1.
Upper Iowa scored three runs, two unearned, on two Mustangs errors in the second inning to give them a 3-0 lead.
An SMSU pitching error by Steven Wehr helped Upper Iowa to another run in the fifth inning, putting the Peacocks at a 4-0 advantage.
SMSU’s Jon Ellis got on base with a walk and advanced to third after a single by Tyler Flattum. A two-run double by Steven Kremer cut Upper Iowa’s lead to just two.
The Peacocks closed out the game after getting two runs from Mustang relief pitcher Landon Gacke for a final score of 6-2.
The Mustangs topped Upper Iowa in game two after a two-run homer hit by Brian Ness, giving the Mustangs a 2-1 victory.
SMSU was scoreless for the first eight innings, and were allowed just three hits before their comeback in the ninth. Adam Thygesen got on base with a walk and advanced to second on a passed ball. Ness’s season-first homerun brought both him and Thygesen home, giving the Mustangs a 2-1 advantage.
Derek Skovbroten took the win as a reliever. Skovbroten pitched the last 1.2 innings. He improves to 2-0 on the season. Jeremey Schmidt was the starting pitcher for the Mustangs, throwing 7.1 innings. Schmidt picked up two strikeouts and two walks. He also allowed only five hits with no earned runs.
The Mustangs had six hits in the game. Kyle Young, Jordon Kontz, Doug Mead, Chris Eichten, Ness, and Thygesen all finished with one hit apiece.
SMSU would go on to win the final two games of the four game series. The Mustangs improve to 13-6 overall and 3-1 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, while the Peacocks fall to 8-15 overall and 4-4 in the NSIC.