Augustana entered the game ranked seventh in the central region rankings. SMSU played the Vikings close both times on Wednesday, but couldn’t come out on top.

“There are no moral victories in this stuff, but for being semi-young and having some sophomores and redshirt freshmen in some pretty big spots, I thought- we had a shot to go up 3-2 there in the fourth inning and didn’t execute, but I’m proud of the way the guys competed,” SMSU manager Jeremy Ische said. “[They had a] never-say-die attitude and wore the uniform with some pride.”

Bell limited the Vikings to one run through the first seven innings of the second game, but a pair of eighth-inning home runs left him with the loss. Cody Wichmann took the loss in the first game after relieving starter Jameson Quinn.

“Ryan Bell was fantastic today for seven, no question,” Ische said. “He was just locating his breaking ball for a strike, changing speeds, locating the fastball. He’s got some softer stuff he throws up there, then his fastball plays up off of that. He’s like number one in the league for fewest walks per nine [innings] just a strike-thrower and knows how to pitch. Kind of an old-school, throwback guy, but really proud of how he competed today.”

Photo by Jake McNeill: Southwest Minnesota State University second baseman Jared Cortez fields a ground ball before applying a tag during Wednesday's Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball game against Augustana at Legion Field in Marshall.

Caden King had a team-leading four hits over the course of the doubleheader, as well as a walk, while Levi Lampert doubled twice with a walk. Jared Cortez also hit a home run to finish with a team-leading two RBIs.

The Mustangs finish their season at 20-28, and their 10-26 conference record slots into 13th out of 15 teams in the NSIC standings. Ische said he felt there were positives to be taken from the season, such as their eight-game winning streak in their spring trip and the way some younger players got experience over the course of the season.

“As long as things stay the course and those guys return, I think we should have a pretty productive and competitive team,” Ische said, adding that the program has a lot of confidence in the incoming class of high schoolers slated to join the team in 2027. “Just looking forward to keep building this thing up, keep competing and keep moving the needle.”

SMSU’s seniors this year include Lampert, Henry Hammrich, Brock Woitalla, Jacob Merrill, Luke Ruter, Cody Dahlager, Carter Lang, Tyler Froland, Zach Hoehn, Evan Behn, Logan Bullock, Vinny Mauro and Charlie Jacobson. Of those players, only Hammrich and Dahlager spent their full collegiate career as Mustangs.

“They’re great kids, they’re really good people, and I think they’ll be really successful in life,” Ische said. “If you look through those 13 seniors that walk across the stage and graduate this may, two years ago or at least last fall was their first year here for most of them… I’m just proud of them for choosing SMSU, and I really hope that they identify as Mustangs moving forward as far as the work they’ve done here. The preparation and work has been just fantastic out of those guys.”

Photo by Jake McNeill: Southwest Minnesota State University pitcher Jameson Quinn throws from the mound during the first game of Wednesday's Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball game against Augustana at Legion Field in Marshall.

GAME 1

Augustana 6, SMSU 2

Photo by Jake McNeill: Southwest Minnesota State University second baseman Jared Cortez fields a ground ball before applying a tag during Wednesday’s Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball game against Augustana at Legion Field in Marshall.

The Mustangs and Vikings were locked in a 2-2 tie heading into the sixth inning of the first game when the Vikings pulled ahead. Joshua Koskie walked and Ryan Clementi singled to put two runners on, and Kobe Eikmeier hit a two-run single to put Augustana on top. The Mustangs made a pitching change after Eikmeier scored on an error at third base, but Carter Heinsch hit an RBI double to bring the score to 6-2.

Quinn pitched the first 4 1/3 innings for SMSU, his first start since his no-hitter against Minnesota Duluth on Saturday. He was solid again against a strong Augustana lineup on Thursday, limiting the Vikings to two earned runs on eight hits and a pair of walks with four strikeouts.

In relief, Wichmann surrendered three earned and one unearned run on two hits and a walk over one inning. Dylan Webb pitched the final five scoreless outs, giving up three hits.

Augustana scored on an Eikmeier RBI single in the second and again on a Troy Berg solo homer in the third to take a 2-0 lead. Yet, SMSU answered in the bottom of the frame when King singled before scoring on a Lampert double, and Carter Lang doubled before scoring on a King single in the fourth to tie up the score.

After King’s game-tying single, SMSU had the opportunity to take the lead with Josh Berreth on third and King on first. King attempted to steal second before turning back, caught in a pickle. Berreth started to sprint home, but King tripped in the basepaths and was tagged for the inning-ending out before Berreth could touch the plate.

King finished the game with two singles, and Lang also reached base twice with a double and a walk.

Mariano Gomez picked up the win to remain a perfect 8-0 for Augustana, limiting SMSU to two earned runs on four hits and a pair of walks with eight strikeouts. Jadon Bast closed the game with a perfect seventh inning.

Augustana 6, SMSU 2

Like the first game, it was a late Augustana rally that turned the tide in the second. Facing a 2-1 deficit, Nate Soelter hit a solo home run to tie up the game at the start of the eighth. Singles from Heinsch, Ragan Pinnow and Bjorn Lind loaded up the bases with one out, and Jake Lundquist capitalized with a go-ahead grand slam.

SMSU took out Bell for Dalager after 105 pitches, but it was too little, too late as the Mustang offense couldn’t capitalize on the pitching staff shutting down Augustana for the remainder of the night.

Bell finished the day surrendering six earned runs on 10 hits and a walk with five strikeouts over 7 1/3 innings. He had limited the Vikings to five hits for one earned run and a walk through the first seven.

In relief, Dalager gave up two hits over a scoreless 2/3 innings, and Zach Hoehn pitched a scoreless ninth with three walks.

SMSU took the lead in the first inning on a two-run homer to left field by Cortez, also scoring Lampert on the play. Yet, the offense went silent for the rest of the night.

Lundquist threatened to go yard in the fourth inning with a shot over the centerfield wall, but Hammrich climbed the ivy to knock the ball back into the field of play. He wasn’t able to make the catch, but the play turned a home run into just a double and Bell got a strikeout to prevent a run from scoring.

Heinsch scored Eikmeier on an RBI single in the fifth, cutting SMSU’s lead in half.

Augustana relieved starting pitcher Maddox Foss after one out following the two-run homer, but Clementi pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings of relief with five strikeouts to keep Augustana in the game. He limited the Mustangs to one hit and two walks.

Josiah Petersen was credited with the win after a pair of scoreless innings, while Jack Sutton closed out the game with a scoreless ninth.