BISMARCK, N.D. — In a tight battle in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball standings UMary came out on top over Southwest Minnesota State this weekend. The Marauders claimed two out of three games over the Mustangs to leapfrog SMSU for sixth place.

Game 1

UMary 1, SMSU 0

A masterful mound performance from Kolby Kiser wasn’t enough to pick up the win for the Mustangs in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. The senior held the Marauders to one run on five hits and a walk over the full six innings. Yet, a lack of run support dropped him to 5-3 on the season after the 1-0 loss.

The game’s only run came in the second inning when Kalem Haney drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second base after Krece Papierski was hit by a pitch. A double play got the Mustangs an out away from ending the inning but a Noah Hull double scored Haney for a 1-0 UMary lead. 

Isaac Nett hit a one-out double in the top of the first inning for the Mustangs and advanced to third on a ground out. Yet, that was as close as the Mustangs would get after another groundout ended the inning.

Lukas Frers started the game for the Marauders, holding SMSU scoreless with four hits and a walk over 5 2/3 innings. He also struck out four batters while improving to 3-4 on the year. Mark Schommer closed out the game with 1 1/3 scoreless innings, including three strikeouts, to pick up his fourth save. He faced just three batters, getting out of the sixth inning when Chase McDaniel was caught attempting to steal second.

Latendresse had a double for the Mustangs while McDaniel and Keenan Wenzel each singled. Nett also drew a walk, becoming the only player to reach base twice in the game.

Game 2

SMSU 7, UMary 6

While the day’s first game was a pitcher’s duel, the bats came roaring back in game 2 as SMSU bounced back with a 7-6 victory.

SMSU trailed 4-3 heading into the fourth inning when they captured the lead. A Nett single and a Jaxon Haase double put two runners in scoring position when Max Kalenberg tied the game up with a sacrifice groundout. Jake Tauer drove in another run with a groundout to short and Brady Petron reached base on a walk. A Peyton Nash single and a fielding error at first base allowed Petron to round the corner for a 3-1 SMSU lead. 

Nett hit a triple with one out in the seventh inning to get within 90 feet of another run. Haase was then hit by a pitch and a sacrifice bunt from Kalenberg and a Tauer single to center made the score 5-1.

Carter Petron improved to 6-1 on the year with an eight-inning pitching performance for the Mustangs. He held UMary to three earned runs on six hits and a pair of walks while striking out 11 batters before being relieved to start the ninth. 

UMary made it a game again in the bottom of the eighth when a Dylan Edmands RBI double and a Daniel Martin RBI single made it a 5-3 game heading into the final frame. SMSU scored twice in the top of the ninth with a Tauer RBI double and a Nash sacrifice bunt but the Marauders kept coming.

With Kobe Lovell relieving Petron to start the inning, UMary hit back-to-back singles to put the tying run on deck. Lovell got a line out and a strikeout to hold the runners, but a Hull single loaded the bases and a Carter Beck double put the tying run on second and the go-ahead run at the plate. Still, Lovell induced a groundout to end the game with a 7-6 SMSU win. 

Alec Danen fell to 3-3 on the year after allowing three runs — two earned, one unearned — on five hits and a pair of walks over five innings. He also struck out seven batters.

In relief for UMary, Kaden Moriarty and Joel McGrath each allowed two earned runs over two innings. Moriarty allowed four hits while McGrath allowed three hits and three walks.

UMary got on the board first when Papierski was hit by a pitch with one out. He advanced to second on a groundout and scored the go-ahead run on a Hull single.

Nash and Beck each had three hits for their respective teams while Nett also reached base three times on a pair of hits and a walk. Cody Wichmann also drew a pair of walks for the Mustangs.

Game 3

UMary 6, SMSU 4

A five-run fourth inning for the Marauders was too much for SMSU to overcome in Sunday’s series finale against UMary. The Mustangs rallied late but fell just shy in the 6-4 loss.

With the game tied at 0-0, Hull started the fourth inning with a solo home run to right field. A Beck bunt single and a Ben Prediger double put two runners in scoring position and a pair of RBI singles from Martin and Jameson gave UMary a three-run lead. Haney then drove in another pair to make the score 5-0 before SMSU pitcher Ryan Chmielewski struck out consecutive batters to get out of the inning.

Chmielewski fell to 1-5 with the loss, allowing five runs over six innings. He struck out nine batters but also allowed 10 hits, a walk and hit a batter.

Kalenberg put SMSU on the board in the seventh inning with a solo shot to right field but a pop out and consecutive strikeouts ended the inning with the Mustangs still trailing by four runs.

UMary extended its lead back to five runs when Prediger drew a leadoff walk in the eighth and went on to score on a Haney sacrifice fly. Still, SMSU remained undeterred heading into the final frame.

Haase started the ninth with a leadoff double and, after UMary subbed out starting pitcher Ryan Chamberlain for Kayden Beauregard, Kalenberg drew a walk to put two runners on. After a Nash groundout advanced the two, Haase scored on a passed ball and Brady Petron tripled down the right-field line to put the tying run on deck.

Wenzel kept the rally going with an RBI single, cutting the deficit to 6-4, but a Wichmann strikeout and a McDaniel fielder’s choice ended the game with a Mustang defeat. 

Chamberlain improved to 2-2 on the year after tossing eight innings with just two runs allowed for UMary. He limited SMSU to six hits and a walk while striking out eight batters.

After Jerod Cyrus pitched the seventh inning for SMSU, allowing one run on one walk with a strikeout, Lovell came in to start the eighth. He faced just two batters, getting an out and allowing a single, but the appearance was his 58th of his career. The mark tied him with B.J. Richter, who pitched for SMSU from 1997 until 2000.

Jensen pitched the final two outs for SMSU, allowing one walk while facing three batters.

SMSU now sits at 24-19 overall this year and 18-16 in the conference, while UMary is 22-21 overall and 18-15 in the NSIC. 

SMSU will host Sioux Falls for a doubleheader at Legion Field in Marshall on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. The Cougars are currently ninth in the NSIC at 14-20, putting them 2.5 games back of the final spot in the NSIC baseball tournament.