Photo by Samantha Davis: Southwest Minnesota State University outfielder Levi Lampert runs toward third base during a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball game against Bemidji State on Tuesday. SMSU took on Northern State in a doubleheader in Sioux Falls, S.D. on Monday, dropping both games.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team dropped a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference games Monday afternoon against Northern State University. The Mustangs came up short in a 9-5 loss in the opening matchup and were hurt by a four-run sixth inning and were walked off 6-5 by the Wolves in game 2.

Five different Mustangs saw the mound in the first game. Lincoln Vasgaard saw the most time, pitching three innings, with a pair of strikeouts while allowing two walks, four hits and three earned runs. Jameson Quinn got the start, allowing five walks and a trio of earned runs in his 1 1/3 innings pitched.

Despite the Mustangs not giving up an error to the Wolves’ one, NSU outhit SMSU 9-5 in game 1. Much of the same trend continued in the second game of the doubleheader, with SMSU being outhit 12-9 with no errors to NSU’s two.

Cody Wichmann tossed seven strikeouts in the second game with his pitching start for 5 2/3 innings, and allowed three walks, seven hits and five earned runs. Dylan Webb tossed the final three innings, and finished with five hits, one earned run and two walks while tossing a pair of strikeouts.

With the two losses, SMSU drops to 15-16 overall and 5-14 in conference play. The Mustangs will next look to get back in the win column on Wednesday with two games at Sioux Falls (15-15, 11-6 NSIC). The first game will start at 1:30 p.m. with the second to follow.

GAME 1

NSU 9, SMSU 5

Connor Davis led the Mustangs offensively with a game-high three RBIs off one hit with a single in the seventh inning to score Jared Cortez and Levi Lampert, while also running in Cortez in the third inning on a sacrifice fly to right field.

SMSU first fell behind in the bottom of the second inning after the Wolves scored three runs, and NSU put the dagger on the win with another six runs in the fifth inning.

With a 3-1 deficit heading into the top of the third, SMSU got things tied up 3-3 with a pair of runs. Both Caden King and Cortez scored, off a Cortez RBI single and Davis’ sacrifice fly, respectively.

Yet, the Wolves got their bats going in the bottom of the fifth for six additional runs to build a 9-3 edge. The runs came from a series of RBIs along with one runner scoring on a wild pitch.

SMSU attempted to climb back into the game in its final at-bat in the top of the seventh, with a two-run Davis RBI single, but NSU wrapped up the game with a pair of strikeouts and a field play.

King had the Mustangs’ largest hit with a double, while Cortez, Hammrich, Davis and King each had one hit.

GAME 2

NSU 9, SMSU 5

SMSU held onto the lead for the first five innings in the second game of the afternoon against the Wolves, but were ultimately unable to find a response after NSU rallied in the bottom of the sixth inning with four unanswered runs to tie up the score, and completed the come-from-behind win with a ninth-inning walk-off.

Tied 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth with the Wolves at the plate, SMSU had two outs completed following a strikeout and infield ground-out. But, with a runner on third after Dalton Kesti hit a leadoff double and advanced another base on the ground-out play, Kesti scored and ended the game off a Dillon Castellanos RBI single.

SMSU initially built a 5-0 lead following the top of the fourth inning behind scoring a trio of runs in the third, and one each in the first and fourth.

In the third-inning Mustang rally, Davis and Josh Berreth each hit an RBI single. Hammrich scored off a NSU throwing error following Davis’ single, which also ran in Lampert. Davis then took home on Berreth’s hit.

NSU got on the board with one run in the bottom of the fourth, and held the Mustangs scoreless the rest of the day while chipping away. Its four runs in the sixth were scored between an RBI single and a three-run RBI double.

Cortez and Davis each hit a double in the game to lead the Mustangs, along with Davis’ team-high two RBIs. Cortez, Davis and Berreth led the way with two hits apiece.