Game 1 Box
Game 2 Box

MARSHALL, Minn. – After capitalizing on a 6-inning shut-out effort from Nathan Nietfeld in a 3-1 win in Game 1, the Northern State Wolves rallied with three runs in the top of the ninth to tie up Game 2, but fell just short of completing the sweep as the host Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs pushed across an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth to take a 10-9 victory in the nightcap.
 
The split leaves the Wolves at 13-20 on the season and 6-12 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.  SMSU, which is tied for sixth in the league standings, stands at 20-13 overall and 10-8 in the loop.
 
Nietfeld gave the Wolves a solid outing en-route to his fourth win of the season, allowing just two hits and six total base runners in a six-inning outing.
 
The Wolves backed up that start with error free ball defensively and a solid six-hit effort at the plate.  NSU tagged starter Alex Alvarez with three runs in the top of the fifth, combining hits by Eric Paulson, Brent Lawrence and Zach Miller with two SMSU errors to score all the runs they would need.
 
Clayton Nutting relieved Nietfeld to start the bottom of the seventh and allowed one run on two hits before being lifted for Clint Manzo, who struck out the first batter he faced and induced a game-ending fly ball from the second baseman to earn his first save of the season.
 
Lawrence went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI in that 3-run fifth. Cameron Lehner also had a hit and scored, while Miller smacked and RBI single in the fifth.
 
Game 2 featured more offense from both teams, who combined for a combined 25 hits and eight errors in nine innings.  The contest was not without its drama either, as the Wolves rallied with three runs in the top of the ninth to turn a 9-6 deficit into a 9-9 tie.
 
The Mustangs answered with drama of their own in the ninth, first filling the bases with two outs, then sending Doug Mead to the plate in a pinch hit situation.  Mead worked the count full before drawing a bases-loaded walk to score the winning run.
 
That run would go down as unearned on reliever Jordan Wakefield's tally, his second unearned run of the game.  Nonetheless, Wakefield was tagged with the loss for the Wolves.  Manzo, who picked up the save in Game 1, started Game 2, allowing four runs on four hits in five innings of work before leaving the game with the score tied and a runner on in the sixth.
 
Derek Skovbroten picked up the win for the Mustangs, his third of the season.
 
Offensively, the Wolves were led by Lehner's 3-for-3, three runs scored effort.  Miller and senior first baseman Max Myers each drove in three runs apiece, while Jesse Gonzalez and Jack Thompson picked up two hits apiece.
 
The Wolves remain on the road this weekend for their longest NSIC road trip of the season, facing Upper Iowa in a four-game series.