NORWALK, Iowa – The Southwest Minnesota State baseball team smacked a pair of grand slams, while freshman Jameson Quinn tossed five-plus innings to earn his first career win, to help the Mustangs earn a 13-9 victory in game two and earn a split with Minnesota Duluth on Wednesday in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball at Fareway Fields.

UMD held on for a 2-1 victory in game one with SMSU having the potential game-tying run thrown out at the plate to end the game.

The teams split the four-game series and are both 2-2 overall, 2-2 NSIC.

In game two, SMSU struck for four runs in the home half of the first on a grand slam by Charles Hackett in his first career at bat for the Mustangs.

UMD answered with three runs in the second but SMSU countered with a run in the bottom of the inning on a solo home run from Carter Lang in his first at bat in a Mustang uniform.

SMSU exploded in the bottom of fourth pushing across seven runs three hits. Jared Cortez started the rally with a double before advancing to third on a fly ball by Caleb Gardow. Lang and Levi Lampert with both hit by pitches to load the bases before Owen Latendresse coaxed a bases loaded walk to make the score 6-3. Cory Bantam then stepped to the plate and lofted an opposite field grand slam over the left field wall to expand the lead to 10-3. Hackett and Henry Hammrich would both walk later in the frame before coming around to score on a two-run, two-out single by Cortez.

The Bulldogs scored a pair of runs in the sixth and plated two unearned runs in the seventh to trim the deficit to 12-7. The Mustangs picked up a big run in the bottom of the seventh with Lampert and Lang executing a double steal with Lang just beating the throw home to push the lead to 13-7.

UMD would not go away scoring a single run off SMSU reliever Austin Dent in the ninth and then adding a solo home run off Cody Wichmann in the ninth, but Wichmann ended the comeback attempt with a pair of strikeouts to seal the victory.

Quinn (1-0) pitched five-plus innings to earn the victory allowing five runs on five hits with seven strikeouts, three walks and two hit by pitches. Dent, in his first collegiate action as well, pitched three solid innings giving up three runs (one earned) on five hits with one walk. Wichmann finished the game allowing the one run on two this with a pair of strikeouts.

Cortez led SMSU’s 11-hit attack with three hits, while Lampert and Lang each collected two hits. Lang scored three runs with Bantam, Lampert and Hackett each scoring twice.

In game one, UMD plated a run in the third and added a big unearned run in the sixth to build a 2-0 lead.

UMD starter Brayden Buttweiler held SMSU hitless for the 5 1/3 innings until Latendresse broke up the no-hit big with a line single. Following an error and a two-out walk to load the bases, Buttweiler worked out of the jam coaxing a ground out to keep UMD in the lead at 2-0.

In bottom of the seventh, SMSU put together a two-out rally that nearly tied the game. After two strikeouts to the start inning, Hammrich single and moved to second on a single by Lampert. Latendress followed with an RBI single to trim the deficit to 2-1. With runners and first and second, Cortez stepped to the plate and laced a pinch-hit single to left field but UMD left fielder Nick Thompson fired a strike to the plate to gun down Lampert and end the game.

Carter Petron (0-1) started for the Mustangs and fired five-plus innings and allowing two runs (one earned) with four strikeouts, two walks and two hit batters. Cameron Jensen pitched two scoreless innings with four strikeouts and one walk.

SMSU will now step out of conference play with six games in Tucson, Ariz. The Mustangs open the trip taking on Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) on March 8 at the Kino Sports Complex.