Photo by Samantha Davis: Southwest Minnesota State University's baseball team celebrates a home run by Levi Lampert (7) in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball game against Jamestown, Sunday in Marshall. SMSU took on Wayne State College in a doubleheader on Thursday, splitting the pair of games in Wayne, Neb.

WAYNE, Neb. ‚ Ryan Bell tossed a seven-inning complete game, scattering seven hits with four strikeouts, while Jared Cortez smacked three hits, including a home runs while adding three RBIs to lift Southwest Minnesota State to an 8-1 victory in game one of a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball doubleheader on a windy Wednesday at the Pete Chapman Baseball Complex.

WSC snapped its four-game losing streak in game two, earning a 20-10 victory in eight innings. With a strong south wind blowing out to left field, the two teams combined for 10 home runs–five by both teams.

SMSU, which had a three-game win streak end, is now 19-24 overall, 9-22 NSIC. WSC pushes its record to 24-21 overall, 16-16 NSIC.

In game one, Bell (5-3) was outstanding, recording his first complete game of the season, while issuing just one walk and tossing 89 pitches. Three of his four strikeouts came in the final three innings.

SMSU out-hit WSC 8-7 and was also aided by seven hit batters in the game, one shy of a school single-game record. SMSU has now set a team single season record for hit by pitches for the second straight season and with eight total in the two games has amassed 79 on the season.

SMSU opened the scoring in the first inning with Cortez reaching on a single and moving to second on a throwing. He would later score on a two-out WSC fielding error to make the score 1-0.

The Mustangs added to the lead in the second with Brock Woitalla stroking a leadoff single and moving to second on a bunt single by Henry Hammrich. Both runners moved into scoring position on a double steal before Levi Lampert made it 2-0 with a sac fly to score Woitalla. Cortez would extend the lead to 4-0 with a two-run homer over the left field wall for his third homer of the season.

WSC plated its lone run in the second inning before SMSU expanded the lead in the fifth, adding a pair of runs. Josh Berreth opened the frame with a hit by pinch and advanced to second on a sac bunt by Nathan Wheeler. Following a wild pitch and walk, Berreth would scoring on a ground out by Hammrich to make the score 5-1. Evan Behn would cap the scoring with a big two-out, pinch-hit single to plate Woitalla and push the lead to 6-1.

SMSU added insurance runs in the seventh with Lampert delivering an RBI single before Cortez drilled a run-scoring double, his team-leading 16th of the season, to make the score 8-1.

In game two, SMSU scored a run in the top of the first with Lampert getting hit by a pitch and later scoring.

WSC answered with a run in the first and then opened the game up in a big way, scoring 10 runs on eight hits and three walks in the second inning to build an 11-1 lead and chase SMSU starting pitcher Tad Tjaden.

The Wildcats pushed the lead to 14-1 in the fourth before the Mustangs got hot at the plate, closing the game with five home runs.

With two runners on in the fifth, Lane Moline connected on a three-run homer, his first as a Mustang, to make the score 14-4. SMSU added another run later in the frame as Noah Thorsen drove in a run with his first collegiate hit to cut the deficit to 14-5.

WSC used a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to make the score 16-5, but SMSU answered in the sixth. Tyler Froland opened the inning with a pinch-hit home run before Moline capped the inning with a two-run home run making the score 16-8.

Thorsen would make the score 16-9 in the seventh with his first career home run, but WSC pushed across a run on a passed ball to build a 17-9 lead.

SMSU added its last run of the game in the eighth with Hammrich drilling a solo home run, but WSC ended the game via run-rule with a two-out, three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth.

Tjaden (1-4) suffered the loss allowing seven runs in one-plus inning on seven hits and one walk.

The Mustangs used six relief pitchers with the Wildcats collecting 18 hits in the game and were aided by seven walks and four wild pitches.

SMSU closed the nightcap with 10 with Moline and Thorsen each finishing with two hits, while Hammrich had a hit, walked twice and scored three runs.

SMSU continues road action this weekend with a three-game series at Minnesota Duluth with a doubleheader on Saturday and a single-game on Sunday.