BRANDON, SD – With standout pitching performances from Matt Graham and Alex Krout plus hitting heroics from Grant Lung and Zach Andreasen, the University of Sioux Falls Baseball Team (23-19, 15-12 NSIC) swept a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference doubleheader from Wayne State (16-19, 10-11 NSIC), 9-8, and 1-0 on an extremely windy Saturday afternoon at First National Bank Field.

With the two wins, the Cougars have set a DII program mark for wins in a season with 23. USF has recorded 21 wins or more three times and twice in the past two years. The doubleheader sweep allowed USF to move to 15-12 in the NSIC for fifth place. USF, which has won six of the last seven games, including three in a row, will face Wayne State again on Sunday on Senior Day at 1 pm. On Senior Day, USF will recognize its 11 seniors with a pre-game ceremony set for 12:40 pm from First National Bank Field in Brandon, SD.

In the opener today, USF rallied for an improbable win after trailing 7-3 in the seventh inning. But USF scored four run in the seventh, keyed by a two-run double from Grant Lung, to tie and Zach Andreasen's first-ever walk-off him gave the Cougars a 9-8 win in the first game.

In game two, USF had a five-hit complete game shutout by senior Matt Graham to earn the win.

Game 1 -- Sioux Falls 9 Wayne State 8 (12 innings)
For the second straight game, USF survived a marathon extra innings with big hits and clutch pitching down the stretch.

In the 9-8 win, USF had a walk-off single by Zach Andreasen which brought home Connor King with the game-winning run in the home half of the 12^th inning. However, it was a leadoff double by Kyle Gulbrandson, which helped USF rally from an 8-7 deficit to win. After Gulbrandson's double, Tyler Cate, who led USF with three hits, moved him to third base on a sacrifice. King was hit by a pitch and then Noah Christenson, who had two hits and three RBI, delivered a sacrifice fly to tie the game. King stole second and Ben Serie was intentionally passed which set the stage for Andreasen's heroics.

Yet, the 12^th inning would have not been possible if not for the seventh inning rally and clutch pitching from Alex Krout. In the seventh inning USF scored four times to tie the game. Cate walked and Christensen reached on an infield hit. Serie's base hit loaded the bases and Andreasen drew an RBI walk. Hubers had a groundout RBI and then Lung came up big with a two-run double to tie the game.

While Krout did not figure in the decision, he worked out of a two-on, no out jam in the eighth inning by inducing a double play to end the frame. In total, Krout worked 4 1/3 innings and allowed two hits and one run with three strikeouts. Derek Lundgren (4-1) picked up the win after worked 2/3 of an inning. Caleb Ditmarson made the starting and worked 5 1/3 innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits with a strikeout. Zachary Shastay (inning, two hits, run, two strikeouts) and Grayson Skinner (2/3 inning, two hits, one run) also worked for USF.

Aside from Cate and Christenson's production on offense, USF had two hits and two RBI from Lung.
 
Game 2 – Sioux Falls 1 Wayne State 0 (7 innings)
Matt Graham (4-4) was the story of game two as he threw a five-hit complete game shutout in a 1-0 win to help USF to a sweep and a third straight win.
Graham allowed just five hits and no runs with five strikeouts while not walking a hitter in a sterling effort on the mound. Kevin Allen (3-3) of Wayne State was the hard luck loser as he allowed just four hits across six innings.

USF scored the game's only run in the second inning as Grant Lung's base hits scored Brady Klehr, who had doubled in the second inning. After that, Graham and Allen matched scoreless frames. Graham, who threw 86 pitches, had three innings, including the seventh inning, when he retired the side in order.
 
Stats Breakdown –
USF is 6-1 over past seven games - Over his past two games, Graham has gone 2-0 with a 1.20 earned run average, allowing just two runs and nine hits with 13 strikeouts across 15 innings. In a stretch of seven games, USF is 6-1 and the pitching staff has shined to the tune of a 2.79 earned run average. USF has recorded 56 strikeouts in 61.1 innings while walling 26 and restricting opponents to a .236 batting average.

Graham is 2-0 in that stretch while Alex Krout has made five appearances with two saves and nine strikeouts across 8 2/3 innings while registering a 2.08 earned run average. At the plate, USF has hit .274, led by senior Kyle Gulbrandson, who has a .389 average, .556 slugging, .480 OBp and seven hits in 18 at bats with six RBI. Grant Lung, another senior, has shined as well with a .381 average. 519 OBP and .429 slugging with eight hits. Leadoff hitter Connor King has a team-high seven RBI, .333 average with a .484 OBP and .500 slugging mark.

USF is hitting .287 for season – Through 42 games, USF has a .287 batting average with a .388 slugging and a .376 OBP. USF has recorded 372 hits with 253 runs, 24 home runs and 74 stolen bases. Noah Christenson leads USF with a .357 average with a team-high in RBI with 34, hits with 55, total bases with 69 and OBP at .406.  Brady Klehr is hitting .344 with a team-high .536 slugging and has five home runs and 26 RBI. Ben Serie has a team-high seven home runs and has a .405 OBP.

On the mound, USF has lowered its earned run average to .561 with 298 strikeouts in 324.1 innings. Alex Krout (0-2) leads USF with a .273 earned run average as he has made 16 appearances with a league-high eight saves, which is 11^th in DII. Caleb Ditmarson is 4-2 with a .405 earned run average and 48 strikeouts while Derek Lundgren is 4-1 out of the pen. Matt Graham is 4-4 with two complete games and a shutout.