MARSHALL, Minn. --- Minnesota State split the first two games of its series against Southwest Minnesota State Saturday evening as the Mustangs took game one 4-1, before the Mavericks claimed the 10-4 win in game two.
 
MSU now owns a 24-8 record, including a 17-3 NSIC record. With the split, SMSU now owns a 16-19 record, including a 6-17 NSIC record.
 
Minnesota State wraps up its three-game series with Southwest Minnesota State on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at Legion Field in Marshall, Minn.
 
Game 1 – Minnesota State: 1 | Southwest Minnesota State: 4  
 
The Mavericks recorded five hits and scored their lone run in the fifth inning, while Southwest Minnesota used a strong fourth inning to take control of the game. 
 
Southwest Minnesota broke the scoreless tie in the fourth, stringing together key hits and taking advantage of wild pitches. A single by Hammrich and a double by King helped produce three runs in the inning, giving the Mustangs a lead they would not relinquish. 
 
Minnesota State responded in the fifth when Charlie Schau and Ethan Bowers each singled to spark the offense. Marshall Gordon followed with an RBI single to bring Schau home and cut into the deficit.
 
However, a double play quickly halted the momentum. The Mavericks threatened again in the seventh, but a triple play ended the inning and any chance of a comeback. Two double plays throughout the game proved costly in limiting scoring opportunities. 
 
On the mound, Ben Irsfeld threw two innings, allowing two hits and one earned run while striking out three. He tossed 38 pitches, including 26 strikes, and issued one walk while hitting one batter. Brody Schulte added a scoreless inning, allowing no hits and one walk over 17 pitches. 
 
Offensively, Schau led the Mavericks with two hits and a run scored, while Bowers also added two hits. Louis Magers pitched three innings, striking out four while allowing three earned runs. Gordon accounted for the Mavericks' lone RBI in the loss. 
 
 
Game 2 – Minnesota State: 10 | Southwest Minnesota State: 4  
 
Gannon Reidinger (3-0) picked up the win for the Mavericks as he tossed six shutout innings while striking out four batters. Tyler Nesheim (1-3) took the loss as he gave up four runs, three earned, in 4.1 innings.
 
The Mavericks got the first run of the game in the third as they loaded the bases with no one out. SMSU was able to get a strikeout, but a throwing error allowed CJ Trask to score the game's first run, before the Mustangs ended the threat.
 
The fifth inning saw the Mavericks score five runs on three hits to take a 6-0 lead. Louis Magers and Eric Nuno both notched solo home runs, before Jake Berkland crushed a three-run home run to left field to put the Mavericks up 6-0.
 
MSU added two more runs in the seventh inning to increases its lead to 8-0. Berkland notched a solo home run to left center for his second of the game. Trask doubled and would eventually score on a wild pitch also.
 
The Mustangs cut MSU's lead in half in the bottom of the seventh to 8-4, but a two-run single by Nuno in the top of the eighth put the Mavericks back up by six at 10-4. MSU allowed just one SMSU base runner in the final two innings as Minnesota State locked down the 10-4 win.