WSC baseball team takes 2 against SMSU

Thanks to a pair of late-inning rallies, Wayne State finished its four-game series with Southwest Minnesota State with a 3-1 record, sweeping the Mustangs on Monday with a 3-2 win in Game 1 and a 6-3 decision in Game 2 during Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball play.

With the pair of losses, the Mustangs drop to 11-11 in the NSIC and 21-16 overall as they prepare to host Minnesota-Duluth on Wednesday.

In the opener, SMSU got on the scoreboard in the second inning as Kyle Young hit a double and Tyler Flattum belted an RBI single.

But with a home run by Jake Ritzdorf and a sacrifice fly, the Wildcats tallied two runs in the top of the fourth to take the lead. SMSU tied the game in the bottom half with a fielder's choice by Jon Ellis.

In the top of the seventh, Wayne State broke the 2-all tie after a fielding error allowed Michael Servais to go from second base to home place, putting the Wildcats up 3-2. Jerad Barth gave up a leadoff single to Ellis, but got the next three batters out, stranding Ellis, the game-tying run, at third base.

In Game 2, SMSU took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second on a wild pitch that allowed Tyler Flattum to get home. But Wayne State would strike with four runs in the top of the sixth. Brett Keim led off with a double, and Travis Parsons followed up with an RBI single. Knocking out SMSU starting pitcher Aaron Johnson, the Wildcats continued the onslaught with an RBI groundout and a two-out, two-run single by Justin Beranek.

Wayne State continued to pad its lead, tacking on two runs in the top of the seventh.

Finishing with six hits, the Mustangs were led offensively by Ellis, who had two hits. Flattum had two runs scored and two RBIs in the nightcap.