Photo by Jake McNeill: Southwest Minnesota State University junior catcher Caleb Gardow (3) celebrates with senior outfielder Jake Tauer on the way to the dugout during a baseball doubleheader against Concordia-St. Paul on April 6 at Legion Field in Marshall

BISMARCK, N.D. — The Southwest Minnesota State will head out on the road for the final time in the regular season this weekend. After dropping a Wednesday doubleheader against Augustana, the Mustangs will look to snap back into form when they head across state lines to take on UMary in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.

Prior to Wednesday’s losses, the Mustangs had been a roll. While they lost their final game against Winona State on Sunday, SMSU had won four straight games prior against the Winona State Warriors and Northern State.

Despite losing each of their last three games, the Mustangs are still in the thick of things in the NSIC. They’ve compiled a 23-17 overall record and a 17-14 conference record to rank sixth in the standings. This weekend’s four-game series will prove particularly important to NSIC tournament seeding as UMary sits one spot behind the Mustangs at 16-14 (20-20 overall).

The Marauders have been on a roll as of late, winning each of their last six games against Minot State, Sioux Falls and Bemidji State to rocket up the conference standings. Still, with Bemidji compiling an 0-32 conference record and Minot sitting second-to-last in the conference at 11-20, UMary still has more to prove after losing each of their last six games against the Mustangs.

Chase McDaniel has led the Mustang bats all season long and broke new ground for SMSU on Wednesday. After setting the SMSU career hits record on April 14 against Minnesota Crookston, McDaniel broke the program’s single-season hits record with a seventh-inning RBI single against Augustana.

McDaniels’ 1.220 OPS and 47 RBIs both rank fourth in the NSIC this season.

McDaniel is far from the only Mustang that’s been raking this year. Isaac Nett has put together an 1.105 OPS with a team-leading 11 home runs while Owen Latendresse is right behind him with a 1.047 OPS. Nett’s 12 stolen bases are also a team-high while McDaniel and Latendresse are tied for second with 10. No other Mustangs have more than two.

While the Marauders don’t stack up to the Mustangs’ top hitters, they do have depth. Kalem Haney, Noah Hull, Carter Beck and Michael Polson all have an OPS over 1.000, though none over 1.100. Hull and Carter provide pop to the lineup with 11 and nine home runs respectively while Haney has a .481 on-base percentage, ranking ninth in the NSIC.

While the Marauders have had a strong lineup, their pitching has struggled. The team’s 9.04 ERA is second-to-last in the NSIC, beating out only Bemidji State’s 14.62 mark. SMSU, meanwhile, ranks fourth at 5.55.

Paxton Miller and Lukas Frers lead the team in starts with 10 and nine respectively. Miller has compiled an 8.12 WHIP while Frers has put together a 7.28 mark.

Still, UMary has been able to find some key bullpen pieces. Mark Schommer has appeared in nine games this season, earning three saves behind his 0.51 ERA and 0.57 WHIP. Kaden Moriarty has also been solid across 10 relief outings with a 3.68 ERA and 1.50 WHIP. Schommer has also struck out 26 batters across 17 2/3 innings.

Kolby Kiser has been a consistent staple of the Mustang rotation this year. While he struggled against Augustana on Wednesday, allowing three runs on four hits without getting an out in a relief appearance, he was electric in his prior start against Winona State. He pitched a complete-game shutout, holding the Warriors to just four hits and a walk over seven innings. His 57 strikeouts across 56 2/3 frames and 1.20 WHIP are both team-highs and his 3.02 ERA ranks second on the team and fifth in the NSIC.

Leading the Mustangs in ERA is Carter Petron. The junior from Rice has only allowed more than two runs once since his first start of the season, helping him earn a 2.84 ERA. Only Augustana’s Ashton Michek at 2.15 has a lower mark.

Petron also has struck out 48 batters across 44 1/3 innings.

Today’s doubleheader and Sunday’s one-off game are both scheduled for noon. Live stats and video for all games are available on SMSUmustangs.com