Game 1 - Southwest Minn. State 5 Wayne State 1

Game 2 - Wayne State 10 Southwest Minn. State 3 

            C.J. Nolen went 4 for 7 with three RBI's while 6-8 junior lefthander Eric Schwieger pitched seven strong innings in the nightcap to help the Wayne State baseball team split a Northern Sun Conference doubleheader at Southwest Minnesota State Sunday afternoon in Marshall, Minnesota.  The host Mustangs won the opener 5-1 with WSC coming back to win the second game 10-3.  The Wildcats are now 23-13 overall and 14-8 in the NSIC while SMSU is 21-14 on the season and 11-9 in league play. 
            In the opener, Southwest Minnesota State starter Alex Alvarez limited Wayne State to six singles while the Mustang defense turned three double plays to defeat the Wildcats 6-1.  The Mustangs scored twice in the second and third innings to take a 4-0 lead.  WSC scored its lone run in the fifth inning when Brett Keim singled and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Braulio Acosta.  SMSU added a solo run in the bottom of the fifth inning to make the final score 5-1.
            Keim singled and scored the Wildcats' lone run in the first game.  Mike Bisenius, Travis Parsons, Jake Ritzdorf, C.J. Nolen and Luke Abkes also singled for WSC.  Tom Doran (3-2) suffered the pitching loss despite allowing just one earned run in six innings of work. He gave up eight hits with two strikeouts in the complete game effort. 
            The Wildcats set the tone for the second game with a five run first inning and then maintained their lead with several two out rallies as WSC salvaged a split with a 10-3 win over the Mustangs.
            WSC scored five runs in the first inning on four hits to go with two SMSU errors.  C.J. Nolen's two-run double was the big hit in the inning while Travis Parsons and Jake Ritzdorf contributed RBI hits.  The 'Cats took a 6-0 lead in the third thanks to a two-out rally as Jake Ritzdorf singled, stole second and scored on a Nolen single.
            After SMSU scored three runs in the fourth inning to trim the WSC advantage to 6-3, the 'Cats scored one run in the sixth and two more in the seventh to take a 9-3 lead.  WSC used two walks and a Travis Parsons run scoring single to score in the sixth inning while the 'Cats put together another two out rally in the seventh to score two more runs.  Mike Frericks singled and Brett Keim walked.  After both players advanced a base on a wild pitch, Luke Abkes produced a two run single up the middle to give WSC a 9-3 lead.  The 'Cats added another run in the ninth inning when Brett Keim was hit by the pitch and later scored on a Braulio Acosta single for a 10-3 Wildcat advantage to close out the scoring.
            WSC had 14 hits in the win while holding SMSU to seven.  Nolen led a balanced hitting attack for the Wildcats going 3 for 5 with three RBI's while Justin Beranek also went 3 for 5 with a double and two runs scored.  Braulio Acosta, Travis Parsons and Jake Ritzdorf each banged out two hits for the Wildcats in the win.
            Junior lefthander Eric Schwieger (3-1) pitched seven strong innings to record the win, giving up just five hits and three runs (two earned) with five strikeouts and two walks.  Junior reliever Trevor Reeves worked the final two innings and allowed no runs on two hits with two strikeouts and one walk.
            Wayne State and Southwest Minnesota State will conclude the four-game Northern Sun Conference series Monday with a doubleheader starting at 12:00 p.m. in Marshall, Minnesota.