Mayville sweeps Tiger baseball
MITCHELL, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team dropped a nonconference doubleheader to Mayville State University Wednesday night at Drake Field in Mitchell, S.D. The Comets won the first game 8-6 and pulled away early for a 6-3 win in the nightcap.
MITCHELL, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team dropped a nonconference doubleheader to Mayville State University Wednesday night at Drake Field in Mitchell, S.D. The Comets won the first game 8-6 and pulled away early for a 6-3 win in the nightcap.
In the first game of the day, it was the Tigers (11-19) who started the game with a big lead. DWU scored two runs in the second on solo home runs by Michael Lukkason and Maximum Shower, and took a 5-0 lead in the fourth thanks to RBI singles by Lukkason and Josh Holsworth and a sac fly from Erik Nockleby.
The Comets (17-9) answered with a five-run fifth inning. Mayville took advantage of three hit batters, one walk and three hits and scored five runs. Kurt McCallum had a two-run double and Ricky Alvernaz had a two-run single in the inning. DWU took a one-run lead in the sixth on an RBI double from Stephen Gunnell, but Mayville took the lead for good in the sixth on an RBI single from Zach Mihic and an RBI triple from McCallum. The Comets added a single run in the seventh to seal the win.
Shower, Gunnell and Lukkason all had two hits for DWU, which had nine total hits. Lukkason had two RBIs. Mickey Grant threw the first four innings and gave up five runs on five hits with two strikeouts. Chris Housley threw one-third of an inning and Josh Wagner gave up two runs off two hits in 1.2 innings of work and took the loss. Zac Custer threw the final inning and gave up a single run.
In the second game, Mayville scored three runs in the fourth on a two-run double and an RBI groundout, and made it a 4-0 game in the fifth on an RBI triple by Alvernaz. The Comets took a 6-0 lead in the sixth on a two-run single by Chris Berry, but the Tigers answered back in the bottom of the inning. Erik Nockleby and Shower singled to start the inning and advanced on a passed ball. Kirk McBreen hit a two-run single to clear the bases, and Lukkason walked and Gunnell reached on an error to load the bases. Nick Tadlock walked to send in a run and leave the bases loaded, but Chris Ciatti hit into a fielder's choice and James McCaleb flied out to right to end the inning.
DWU had four hits in the nightcap, including a double by Tadlock. Schyler Bryan threw the first two innings and Nick Pecha took over in the third. He gave up three runs on two hits in two innings and took the loss. Nick Anglin, Luke Bamberg and Ethan Opsahl all threw a single inning for DWU.
The Tigers are back in action Saturday, March 31, when they start Great Plains Athletic Conference play with a doubleheader at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Neb. DWU plays Concordia Sunday, April 1, in Seward, Neb.