BRANDON, S.D. – Caleb Ditmarson threw a one-hit shutout and had a career-best 10 strikeouts to lead the University of Sioux Falls Baseball Team (12-10, 4-3 NSIC) to an 8-0 victory over Southwest Minnesota State (8-9, 1-4 NSIC) in game one and a split of the NSIC doubleheader on a cold and windy day at First National Bank Field in Brandon, S.D. In game two, SMSU outscored USF, 11-6.

The two teams will play again on Sunday at 1 pm at FNB Field.

Game 1 – USF 8 SMSU 0 (7 innings)
In his best start of his career, Ditmarson moved to 3-1 on the season as he was virtually unhittable as he allowed just one hit and had a complete game shutout with the victory. He had the 10 strikeouts which bettered his previous best of eight (twice). He walked six batters but held SMSU to a .045 average. In the process he lowered his season earned run average to 2.97 and now has two complete games. In 30.1 innings this year, he has allowed just 24 hits with 35 strikeouts and 11 walks.

While Ditmarson was stopping SMSU on offense, USF put up solid numbers when they were at the dish.The Cougars jumped to a 3-0 lead in the opening inning and added a run in the third and three more in the fourth frame before closing out the scoring with a run in the fifth inning. In total, USF had nine hits which included three extra base knocks.

Noah Christenson led USF's nine-hit attack with three hits. He also had two RBI and a run scored. Tyler Cate had two runs and a hit while Noah Buss had his second home run of the season while Ben Serie had his team-leading fourth home run while also scoring twice.

Kolby Kiser (0-3) took the loss for SMSU after allowing seven runs on six hits in 3 1/3 innings.

Game 2 – SMSU 11 USF 6 (9 innings)
SMSU outscored USF in game two, 11-6. The Mustangs had 14 hits and scored single runs in the first and second inning, adding two runs in the fourth, sixth and seventh frames with three in the ninth inning. Owen Latendresse led SMSU with three hits, four runs and three RBI. He had a pair of home runs. SMSU also had long balls from Isaac Nett and Max Kalenberg. Chase McDaniel also had three hits. On the mound, Ryan Chmielewski moved to 2-2 after going 5 1/3 innings and allowing just four hits and two runs while striking out five. 

The USF offense was paced by Connor King, who had four hits in five at bats in pushing his average to .289 on the season. King also had an RBI and two runs scored. Tyler Cate had a hit, run scored and RBI while Christenson added two RBI. Brady Klehr, who is now hitting .317 on the season, had a pair of hits and two runs scored.

Matt Graham (1-3) took the loss for USF as he allowed six runs on nine hits with two strikeouts in six innings. Derek Lundgren gave up three hits and two runs with a strikeout in two innings while Zachary Shastay allowed two hits and three runs in one inning of work.

Breaking it down – Today's Numbers
On the day, USF hit .305 as a team with 18 hits and 14 runs with 12 RBI. The Cougars had a .424 slugging mark and .397 OBP with 3-of-3 on stolen bases. Connor King led USF by hitting .571 with four hits in seven at bats and three runs scored. Noah Christenson was 3-of-6 for .500 and had a .444 OBP with four RBI. Brady Klehr was also 3-of-6 with a .571 OBP. On the mound, USF had a 6.19 earned run average with 13 strikeouts in 16 innings.

Season Stats Breakdown – Cougars hitting .291 as a team
Through 22 games, USF is hitting .291 as a team with a .398 slugging mark and .378 OBP. USF has scored 142 runs or 6.45 per game. USF has 197 hits or 8.95 per game with 25 doubles, four triples and 13 home runs. The Cougars have stolen 38-of-49 bases. Christenson continues to lead USF with a .425 average. He has a team-high 34 hits and team-high 19 RBI. He has a .525 slugging mark and .444 OBP. Tyler Cate has moved his average to .395 with 32 hits and a .457 OBP. He and Christenson are both 7-of-8 on steals. On the mound, USF has a 6.34 earned run average with 158 strikeouts in 166 innings. USF is led on the mound by Caleb Ditmarson, who is 3-1 with a 2.97 earned run average, two complete games and a team-best 35 strikeouts. Teams are hitting just .224 against Ditmarson. Alex Krout has a 3.38 earned run average in seven appearances with a team-high four saves.