Tigers drop two games to Red Raiders

MITCHELL, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team dropped two games to Great Plains Athletic Conference opponent Northwestern College by a score of 3-2 in the first game and 12-1 in the second game Saturday at Drake Field in Mitchell.

 Neither team scored through the first three innings, but the Red Raiders (20-16, 13-5, GPAC) scored first in the fourth inning. One inning later, Joe Hanisch (Hartford, S.D.) tied the game after knocking a homerun over the right-field fence.

 The Tigers (10-21, 6-12 GPAC) took their first lead of the game following a Jonathan Shani (San Francisco, Calif.) RBI single. However, Northwestern regained the lead in the top of the seventh inning and went on to win the first game.

 Hanisch finished the game going 1-for-3 with a homerun and an RBI, while Shani went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a double. Gunnar Johnson (Gresham, Ore.) pitched six innings, striking out seven batters, only allowing two hits.

 In the second game, Northwestern jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. In the next inning, the Red Raiders posted a five-run inning, followed by a one-run inning in the third to make it a 9-0 game. In the bottom of the third, Wes Anderson (Duluth, Minn.) nailed a solo homerun to left field to put the Tigers on the scoreboard. The Red Raiders added three runs in the fourth inning to take the second game from DWU.

 Anderson finished the game 2-for-4 with a homerun and an RBI, as Reed Harter (Colome, S.D.) went 2-for-2. Hunter Christopherson (Vermillion, S.D.) was tabbed with the loss after pitching one and two-third innings and giving up eight runs.

 The Tigers host Morningside College for senior day with the time to be announced Tuesday at Drake Field in Mitchell.