MANKATO – The Southwest Minnesota State baseball team battled to the very end on Saturday afternoon before suffering a heartbreaking 7-5 loss to NSIC regular season and nationally ranked Minnesota State at Bowyer Field.

SMSU, eliminated on Friday from being able to qualify for the eight-team NSIC tournament, ends the season in ninth place in the league standings. The Mustangs close the season at 23-24 overall, 18-22 NSIC, after dropping their final seven games of the season.

MSU’s Ike Mezzenga, a transfer from the University of Minnesota, belted a two-out, three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth to snap a 4-4 game. SMSU attempted a rally in the ninth scoring a run and had the tying run at the plate, but a double play ended the comeback attempt.

Owen Latendresse finished 3 for 4 with three runs scored in his final game and closed his career with 201 hits, ranking fifth in team history. Carter Lang also had a big game for the Mustangs cracking out three hits, including a home run, while driving in four runs.

SMSU’s Levi Lampert walked in the game to reach base in all 47 games this season, extending his school-record streak.

SMSU jumped to an early lead with Lang smacking a two-run homer, his sixth long-ball of the season.

MSU answered with a run off SMSU starting pitcher Jameson Quinn in the first and then added two more runs, including one unearned in the second, to take a 3-2 lead.

Quinn tossed the first three innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits with two strikeouts and three walks.

Down 4-2 in the seventh, Caleb Gardow opened the inning reaching via an error and advanced to second base. Following a walk to Lampert, Latendresse hit a double off the left field wall, but a perfect relay to the plate gunned down Gardow for the first out. With two runners in scoring position, Cory Bantam was intentionally walked to load the bases. Lang made the Mavericks pay by ripping a two-run single to left field to tie the game at 4-4. SMSU had a great chance to regain the lead, but Bantam was out at the plate on a ground ball, while a strikeout stranded the go-ahead run at second base.

SMSU put together another rally in the ninth with Latendresse hitting a one-out single and later scoring on a Bantam run-scoring single. MSU relief pitcher, Ean DiPasquale, however coaxed a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.

Jensen (3-2) tossed five innings of relief in his final game, allowing four runs on five hits with three strikeouts and three walks.

Today’s game was the final in the brown and gold uniform for Mustang seniors Noah Cekalla, Ryan Chmielewski, Jerod Cyrus, Shay Endres, Gardow, Levi Iverson, Jensen, Bennett Knapper, Latendresse, Brady Petron and Carter Petron.