DWU baseball drops two games on the road

Crete, Neb. – The Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team took on Doane University in a Great Plains Athletic Conference doubleheader as DWU dropped the first game 4-3, and fell in the second game 4-2, Tuesday in Crete, Neb.

 Doane (22-16, 12-4 GPAC) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. However, DWU (10-19, 6-10 GPAC) tied the game in the third inning. Branden Oropeza (San Francisco, Calif.) knocked a run home after a single to right field. Next up, Chandler Bakley (Martin, S.D.) reached base on a fielder's choice, bringing home another run. Capping off the third inning was Jonathan Shani (San Francisco, Calif.) who singled through the right side. The tying run came home on the play after an error by the outfielder.

 The game was tied until the sixth inning when Doane hit a single through the right side, bringing home the winning run. Oropeza went 1-for-4 with an RBI, as Reed Harter (Colome, S.D.) finished 3-for-4 with a run scored. Gavin Reichmuth (Chandler, Ariz.) pitched seven innings and struck out two batters in the loss.

 In the second game, Doane took an early 2-0 lead after the first inning. But, DWU pulled within a run after Shani hit a one-run single into left field in the third inning. Three innings later, DWU tied the game after Landon Neugebauer (Mitchell, S.D.) hit a single, bringing Drew DeMers (Winner, S.D.) around for the score. Doane added two runs in the top of the seventh inning to pull away from DWU.

 Neugebauer went 3-for-3 with an RBI, while Shani finished the game 1-for-2 with an RBI. Dominique Boerger (Milbank, S.D.) went the distance as he struck out five batters.

 The Tigers are scheduled to play Northwestern College in a GPAC doubleheader at 5 p.m. Thursday in Orange City, Iowa.