Bulldogs down DWU in doubleheader

BRANDON, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team fell to Concordia University in a Great Plains Athletic Conference doubleheader. CNC took the first game, 4-1 and won the second game 17-5 in seven innings Sunday in Brandon, S.D.

 The first game of the day was a pitcher's duel as neither team scored a run until the final inning. The Bulldogs (10-10, 4-0 GPAC) nailed a solo homerun to kick off the seventh inning. They opened up the scoring with three more runs to hold a 4-0 lead heading to the bottom of the seventh frame.

 Kyle Bailey (Brandon, S.D.) tried to keep the Tigers (9-13, 4-4 GPAC) in the game as he connected on a homerun. However, the comeback fell short as DWU dropped the opening game of the day.

 Bailey finished 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run, as Wes Anderson (Duluth, Minn.) finished 2-for-3 at the plate. Gunnar Johnson (Gresham, Ore.) pitched six and two-third innings as he struck out five batters and allowed three earned runs.

 The Bulldogs scored early in the second game as they opened a 5-0 lead in the first inning. Two frames later, Concordia added a run, followed by a three-run homerun in the fourth inning to hold a 9-0 lead.

 In the fifth inning, the Bulldogs tacked on three more runs on a three-run shot to left field to push the Concordia lead to 12-0. Moments later, Reed Harter (Colome, S.D.) led off the bottom half of the inning with a double to left field. Following a groundout, J.T. Miller (Sioux Falls, S.D.) crushed a two-run homerun to right field to get DWU on the board, 12-2.

 The Tigers tacked on two more runs followed by RBI singles from Harter and Luke Wodahl (Buffalo, Wyo.) to cut the deficit to 13-4.

 The Bulldogs added four runs in the seventh inning to pull away from the Tigers in the second game of the day.

 Harter went 2-for-3 with an RBI, as Wodahl finished 1-for-2 with an RBI. Miller tallied a pair of RBIs and Gavin Reichmuth (Chandler, Ariz.) struck out two batters on the mound for the Tigers.

 DWU is set to travel north to play University of Jamestown in a four-game set beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday in Jamestown, N.D.