ROCHESTER, Mich. - David Ernst pitched a complete-game two-hitter and third-seeded North Dakota State advanced to its second straight Summit League baseball championship game with a 3-0 win over No. 4 seed Western Illinois on Saturday, May 25.

It was the second shutout of the year for Ernst (5-5), who walked two and struck out seven.  He retired 14 of 15 batters between a leadoff single in the third and a two-out hit in the seventh and then 7 of 8 to end the game around a two-out walk in the eighth.

North Dakota State (26-25) posted the first back-to-back shutouts in league tournament history and its first back-to-back shutouts as a Division I program.  Missouri State in 1984 was the only other team to have two shutout wins in league tournament play.

John Skrbec was 3-for-4 with an RBI single in the second after a leadoff triple by Kyle Kleinendorst.  Skrbec scored NDSU's second run in the fourth when he led off with a single and scored on Aiden Hook's safety squeeze bunt three batters later.

The Bison stretched the lead to 3-0 in the fifth when Tim Colwell hit a leadoff single and scored from second on Wes Satzinger's one-out single to left field.

J.P. Maestas and Tanner Glore had the only two Western Illinois hits.  Left-handed starting pitcher Tom Constand (4-5) pitched all nine innings allowing two earned runs on eight hits with no walks and six strikeouts.

Western Illinois (19-36) plays an elimination game against No. 1 seed South Dakota State with the winner advancing to play North Dakota State in the championship game at 12 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 26.