Game 1
Mount Marty College
Game 2
MITCHELL, S.D. – The scenario was simple for the Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team heading into the final doubleheader of the season. With two wins over rival Mount Marty College, the Tigers would earn a spot in the Great Plains Athletic Conference postseason tournament.
DWU did what it needed to on the strength of dominant pitching. Sophomore Patrick Whetham (Garretson, S.D.) started on one day's rest in game one and led the Tigers to a 2-1 win. In game two, junior Dustin Steckler (Garretson, S.D.) put together his best performance of the season, allowing one-hit over nine innings in a 3-0 shutout.
The sweep moves DWU to 10-10 in the GPAC and 20-24 overall. DWU will head to Doane College to open the GPAC tournament Thursday in Crete, Neb. The Tigers open the tournament against Doane at 3 p.m.
DWU took advantage of early errors by MMC in the opening game. The Tigers scored twice on just one hit in the first inning, as the Lancers committed two errors in the opening frame. The first run came across on a ground out by sophomore Jared Neilan (Pierre, S.D.), while the second run came on a throwing error.
The Tiger offense was done for the game, but the team's pitching took care of the rest. Whetham tossed 5 and 2/3 innings, allowing one run on six hits, while striking out four and walking one. Sophomore Will Lutjen (Miller Place, N.Y.) came in to close the game, not allowing a hit and picking up the save.
The Lancers outhit the Tigers 6-3, while DWU committed four errors to three from MMC.
Game two was the Steckler show, as he made a run at a no-hitter. The Lancers did not pick up a hit until the seventh inning and that's all they would get. Steckler threw all nine innings, allowing just one hit, while walking two and striking out eight.
For the second game in a row, the Tigers got all of their runs in one inning, scoring three times in the second inning. Junior Cole Wenande (Alexandria, S.D.) got the Tigers started with an RBI groundout. Sophomore Lakin Neugebauer (Mitchell, S.D.) singled home the second run, stole second and came around to score on a single from sophomore Chris Combs. (Corvallis, Mont.).
