Game 2
Concordia (Neb.)
Game 1
Concordia (Neb.)
MITCHELL, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team has won five of six games overall and three of four in the Great Plains Athletic Conference after picking first league doubleheader sweep of the season Sunday at Cadwell Park in Mitchell, S.D.
The Tigers used a strong outing from sophomore Patrick Whetham (Garretson, S.D.) and timely hitting in game one for a 3-2 win over Concordia University. DWU earned the series sweep with a 14-4 run-rule win in seven innings in game two. The wins move the Tigers to 14-18 overall and 4-8 in the GPAC.
Whetham was solid in game one, pitching all seven innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and struck out four. Whetham is now 3-3 on the season.
Concordia looked to be locked in at the plate early, when Alex Alstott took the first pitch of the game over the left-field wall to give the Bulldogs a quick 1-0 lead. Concordia added another in the second inning, putting DWU in a 2-0 hole.
The Tigers fought back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third when Tyler Waddle doubled home junior Cole Wenande (Alexandria, S.D.) and sophomore Jared Neilan (Pierre, S.D.) to even the score. DWU took its first lead of the game in the bottom of the fourth when sophomore Hartman Katz (Huron, S.D.) came through with a pinch-hit RBI double to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead, which Whetham made stand the rest of the way.
DWU finished with eight hits and three errors in game one, compared to seven hits and no errors from Concordia. Neilan and junior Dominic Sebastiani (San Francisco, Calif) each finished with a pair of hits in the win.
The Tigers had no need to hold on the second game, as the DWU bats came alive. The home team finished with 15 hits, including three from Wenande and Neilan, while senior Tyler Johnson (Elizabeth, Colo.), senior Ben Ladner (Delray Beach, Fla.) each added two.
After Johnson opened the scoring with an RBI single in the second inning, Neilan drove in the first two of his six RBIs. Junior Austin Calhoon (Winner, S.D.) picked up an RBI sacrifice fly in the third, while Neilan, Waddle and Ladner each drove in a run in the fourth to give DWU a 7-1 lead. The Tigers really broke the game open with four runs in the fifth, including three on a Neilan triple.
Junior Michal Kinzler (East Grand Forks, Minn.) got the win for DWU, his first of the season. He pitched six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, while walking six and striking out five.
The Tigers look to keep the winning going with a doubleheader against the University of Jamestown at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Jamestown, N.D.