Tigers drop two games to William Penn at Tucson Invitational

TUCSON, Ariz. – The Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team dropped a double-header to William Penn University, 7-3 in game one and 6-2 in game two at the Tucson Invitational in Tucson, Ariz.

 In the first game, the Tigers (1-6) took a 3-0 lead after Wes Anderson (Duluth, Minn.) singled into left field bringing Landon Neugebauer (Mitchell, S.D.) home and Branden Oropeza (San Francisco, Calif.) doubled into left field, bringing two runs home. However, William Penn tied the game in the bottom of the first inning after adding three runs.

 The Statesmen (7-6) took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the third inning and extended their lead with a run in the fifth inning. After allowing two more runs in the sixth inning and struggling to add another run, DWU dropped the first game of the day.

 Anderson went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run, while Oropeza finished 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Jerrod Zens (Alexandria, S.D.) finished 2-for-3 and Zack Puetz (Volga, S.D.) went 1-for-3. Gunnar Johnson (Gresham, Ore.) was tabbed with the loss after pitching four innings, striking out three batters and allowing four earned runs.

 In the second game, William Penn took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. But, the Tigers tied the game in the second inning after Reed Harter (Colome, S.D.) grounded out to the short stop, allowing for Joe Hanisch (Hartford, S.D.) to come home. The Statesmen added two runs in the third inning, two in the fifth inning and one in the seventh inning to extend their lead to 6-1. Heith Williams (Madison, S.D.) smacked a triple into centerfield, bringing Zens home. However, the Tigers could not complete a comeback as they dropped the second game, 6-2.

 Williams ended the game 2-for-4 with an RBI, as Harter went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Zens finished 2-for-3 with a run and Hanisch went 1-for-3 with a run. Hunter Christopherson (Vermillion, S.D.) pitched five innings, striking out four batters and allowing four earned runs.

 DWU takes on NCAA Division II foe, Southwest Minnesota State University at 4 p.m. tomorrow in the Tucson Invitational in Tucson, Ariz.