Game 2
Dakota Wesleyan
Dordt
Game 1
Dordt
SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – The Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team is in a tight race for a spot in the Great Plains Athletic Conference postseason tournament. The Tigers battled Dordt College to a split in a doubleheader Thursday in Sioux Center, Iowa.
DWU rallied from down a run twice to push game one to extra innings. Three doubles pushed across two runs for the Tigers in the eighth inning and the visitors held on for a 4-3 win. Dordt got a strong pitching performance from Michael Grady in game two to top DWU 7-0.
On two days of rest, senior pitcher Joey Fitzgerald (Fairmont, Minn.) shined in game one, pitching all eight innings. He allowed three runs on seven hits, while walking two and striking out three. The win pushes Fitzgerald to 6-2 on the season.
Down a run in the third, sophomore Jared Neilan (Pierre, S.D.) got the Tigers on the board with a sacrifice fly RBI. Dordt recaptured a one-run led in the bottom of the third, but DWU came through another sacrifice fly RBI in the fifth off the bat of senior Tyler Johnson (Elizabeth, Colo.).
The score remained tied at two into the top of the eighth. With one out, junior Cole Wenande (Alexandria, S.D.) doubled to get things started for DWU. Sophomore Tyler Waddle (Huron, S.D.) followed with an RBI double to give the Tigers their first lead of the game. DWU got an insurance run on an RBI double from junior Neil Nagle (Oslo, Minn.). Dordt got one back in the bottom of the eighth, but Fitzgerald was able to shut the Defenders down for the win.
In game two, Dordt scored four times in the third innings to pull away from DWU. Jake Thayer paced Dordt with three hits, including a pair of doubles. The Tigers were held to four hits by Grady, who faced just three batters over the minimum.
With the split, DWU is now 18-24 overall and 8-10 in the GPAC. The Tigers are currently in seventh place in the conference with several teams still wrapping up play on Thursday.
The Tigers close the 2015 regular season with a doubleheader against rival Mount Marty College at 4 p.m. Saturday at Cadwell Park in Mitchell, S.D. The series is also Senior Day as seven graduating players will be honored.