Photo by Jake McNeill Southwest Minnesota State University shortstop Brock Woitalla makes a throw toward first base during the second game of a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball series against Minnesota Crookston at Legion Field in Marshall on Saturday.

MARSHALL — A strong pitching performance from Ryan Chmielewski gave the Southwest Minnesota State a 1-0 win over Minnesota Crookston to start a three-game Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference series on Saturday. That momentum didn’t carry over to the rest of the series, however, as the Mustangs fell 7-5 in Saturday’s second game and 9-4 in Sunday’s finale.

Chmielewski was named the NSIC’s Pitcher of the Week on Monday after throwing 6 1/3 shutout innings, striking out five batters with three hits and no walks in the win. No runners reached second base in the game, and he now hasn’t allowed a run over his last 14 innings.

“He was landing his breaking ball for a strike, his changeup was good, he was just competing,” SMSU head coach Jeremy Ische said. “That’s what Ryan’s been doing for us, not just this year but in his freshman and sophomore year… He gives the team a great chance to win.”

Cory Bantam was also honored on the weekly release as among the top performers of the week, hitting a 3-run homer in a win over Wayne State on Wednesday and recording a hit in each game against Crookston over the weekend. He went 10 of 19 with two doubles and four RBIs on the week.

UMC 0

Chmielewski dominated the first 6 1/3 innings of the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday, striking out five Golden Eagles while holding them scoreless. He didn’t walk a batter and limited them to three singles.

Levi Lampert gave SMSU its lone run in the bottom of the first inning, sending the game’s fourth pitch over the right-field wall for a solo homer, his 10th of the season.

Lampert’s homer was the game’s lone extra-base hit. Jared Cortez and Bantam also singled for SMSU while Kyler Miller accounted for two of the Golden Eagles’ four hits.

Josh Dykhoff pitched all six innings for Minnesota Crookston. Named NSIC Pitcher of the Week on March 31, Dykhoff struck out eight Mustangs on Saturday while allowing one earned run on four hits.

Cameron Jensen relieved Chmielewski in the seventh inning, allowing one hit while getting the final two outs to earn his fourth save of the season.

The game’s only runner in scoring position came in the top of the seventh when Americo Sculati singled with one out. SMSU put Jensen on the mound, and and Sawyer Satrom got to first on a fielder’s choice and advanced to second on an Aaron Wensloff single, but a Kobe Senn pop out ended the game.

GAME 2

SMSU 5

Crookston tied the game at three runs apiece in the fifth inning with a Dylan Debilzen RBI single and claimed the lead in the sixth on a Dykhoff solo home run. The shot to center field was Dykhoff’s second of the game after he also hit a two-run homer in the top of the first.

The Golden Eagles continued to build on the lead with an RBI single by Danny Wensloff later in the sixth and retained the lead for the rest of the game.

“It was free bases, for us,” Ische said when asked about the difference between Saturday’s first and second games. “We let their best player beat us. Their three-hole hitter had two home runs… Those two big swings by their three-hole guy and us giving them nine free bases on the mound with walks or hit-by-pitches, that’s the difference. They gave us two, and they cashed in a little more than we did.”

Carter Lang hit an RBI single to score Cortez in the sixth and Owen Latendresse hit a double to score Bantam in the eighth. Yet, a hit-by-pitch and a walk with the bases loaded in the seventh with Jerod Cyrus on the mound kept the Golden Eagles ahead throughout.

After his double, Latendresse stole third and nearly scored on an Evan Behn fielder’s choice. Yet, it was confirmed after review that he was tagged out as he dove toward the plate.

Austin Dent was charged with the loss for SMSU, falling to 0-1 after allowing one earned and one unearned run on two hits, a walk and no outs. Shay Endres left the game with a no-decision after allowing three earned runs on four hits with four strikeouts over five innings.

Cortez, Bantam and Latendresse each recorded a double and a single at the plate while Caleb Gardow added another double.

Latendresse gave SMSU its first run of the game in the fourth when he singled in Cortez. Bantam then scored on a wild pitch and Lang hit a sacrifice fly to score Latendresse for a 3-2 lead.

Isaac Roers improved to 3-2 on the season for Crookston after giving up one earned run on three hits over 1 1/3 inning of relief. Kyle Odenbach did not get a decision after allowing three earned runs on four hits over the game’s first five innings, while Nate Grafsgaard increased his save total to six after pitching two scoreless innings with three strikeouts and a hit to close out the game.

GAME 3

SMSU 4

A four-run ninth inning cemented Crookston’s win in Sunday’s series finale. The Golden Eagles led by a run heading into the final frame, but a Dykhoff RBI single, a two-run single by Connor Bushbaum and another RBI single by Senn made the score 9-4. Three of the Golden Eagles’ four runs in the frame came with two outs.

Carter Petron fell to 4-3 with the loss, allowing three earned and two unearned runs on five hits and three walks over six innings. He also struck out six batters.

In three frames of relief, Jensen gave up four earned runs on six hits and a walk.

SMSU fell into an early hole when a Miller home run, a Senn bases-loaded hit-by-pitch, and an Aaron Wensloff RBI single gave the Golden Eagles a 3-0 lead. Miller also hit a second homer in the sixth, driving in two runs for a 5-0 advantage.

SMSU nearly came all the way back in the sixth inning. Ground outs by Cortez and Bantam scored Hammrich and Lampert, and Latendresse scored on a passed ball. A Lang RBI single brought SMSU within a run and a Woitalla walk put the go-ahead run on first, but Gardow struck out to end the inning.

Behn led the team at the plate with two hits and a walk while Crookston was led by Miller’s three hits — including a pair of home runs — for three RBIs. Dykhoff and Debilzen each also singled twice.

Nate Benning earned the win for the Golden Eagles, improving to 3-2 with five scoreless innings. He struck out six batters while limiting SMSU to one hit and a walk. Joey Connelly, Caden Edwards and Grafsgaard each also pitched a scoreless inning of relief.