Game 1
Valley City St.
Game 2
Missouri Valley
Game 3
University of Antelope Valley
Dakota Wesleyan
Game 2
Northern St.
Dakota Wesleyan
Game 2
Presentation
Game 1
Northern St.
Game 4
Central Methodist
Game 5
Central Methodist
Game 6
Olivet Nazarene
Game 7
Presentation
Game 8
Valley City St.
Game 9
Minot St.
MITCHELL, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team headed out to Tucson, Ariz., to start the 2015 season under first-year coach John Greicar and came back with .500 record with the Great Plains Athletic Conference schedule looming.
The Tigers (6-6) completed three separate doubleheader sweeps at the Tucson Invitational, while finishing with a better batting average and more hits than their opponents in the twelve games.
After opening the season with a 7-5 loss to Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), DWU won two against Central Methodist (Mo.) on day two. The second win was walk off in the bottom of the seventh inning. DWU dropped its next four games, including two to NCAA Division II Northern State University and one each to Minot State University and Missouri Valley College.
The Tigers got things going again against Valley City State University (N.D.), sweeping the Vikings in a doubleheader. Senior Joey Fitzgerald (Fairmont, Minn.) pitched the complete game, allowing one run on four hits and struck out five. In the second game against VCSU, DWU held on for a 9-8 win, with sophomore Jared Neilan (Pierre, S.D.) and junior Neil Nagle (Oslo, Minn.) picking up two RBIs each.
DWU continued to roll with another doubleheader sweep. The Tigers took two from Presentation College, including a 16-4 rout and a 3-0 pitching gem from sophomore Patrick Whetham (Garretson, S.D.). In game one, DWU got home runs from sophomore Hartman Katz (Huron, S.D.) and junior Cole Wenande (Alexandria, S.D.). Whetham got the complete game shutout, allowing four hits and striking out six over seven innings in the second game. The Tigers closed the week in Arizona with a 6-3 loss to the University of Antelope Valley (Calif.) on Saturday.
Sophomore Tyler Waddle (Huron, S.D.) finished the trip with 14 hits and a .467 batting average, while scoring 10 runs and driving in four more. Nagle added a team-high 14 RBIs, while adding 14 hits, three doubles, six runs scored and a .378 batting average. Neilan closed the trip with a .351 average with 13 hits, nine RBIs, two doubles, a triple and a home run.
Pitching leaders for the Tigers included Whetham with two wins, including a shutout. He pitched 12 innings, allowing 11 hits and two runs, while striking out eight and walking three. Fitzgerald pitched in two games, winning one and throwing 11 and 1/3 innings. Fitzgerald allowed one earned run and returned home with a 0.79 ERA. Junior Tanner Swets (Loveland, Colo.) leads the Tigers with 12 strikeouts, while throwing 7 and 2/3 innings.
DWU continues the 2015 season with a doubleheader against Dakota State University starting at 1 p.m. today in Madison, S.D.