CRETE, Neb. – An early morning start did little to stop the momentum of the Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team, which moved into the Great Plains Athletic Conference championship round of the Doane bracket with a win over Morningside College Friday in Crete, Neb.
The Tigers scored three in the third and four in the fifth to outpace the Mustangs 8-3 on day two of the tournament. DWU moves to the championship round and will play the team that emerges from the loser's bracket at noon on Saturday. The Tigers' opponent would need to win twice to eliminate DWU, while Wesleyan needs one more win to earn a spot in the GPAC title game.
Morningside got on the board first, with a run in the third inning, but DWU responded swiftly. Three Tigers crossed the plate in the bottom of the third. Sophomore Chris Combs (Corvallis, Mont.) and sophomore Jared Neilan (Pierre, S.D.) each had an RBI single in the inning, while another run scored on a Morningside error.
DWU stretched its lead to 7-1 in the fifth with four runs. Neilan came through again, scoring two with a double. After sophomore Tyler Waddle (Huron, S.D.) singled home Neilan, junior Neil Nagle (Oslo, Minn.) sent a ball over the left-field wall for a two-run home run.
The Mustangs got a run back in the sixth and seventh, while a balk brought home a DWU run in the eighth.
DWU finished with 11 hits, with every starter picking up at least one. Neilan led the way with two hits and two RBIs. On the mound, sophomore Patrick Whetham (Garretson, S.D.) got the win, his fifth of the season. He allowed three runs on nine hits, while striking out three in seven innings. Junior Alex McGuigan (Pierre, S.D.) and junior Michel Kinzler (East Grand Forks, S.D.) combined to shut down Morningside in the last two innings.
Morningside plays the winner of Doane College and Hastings College at 3 p.m. today, with the winner moving on to play DWU tomorrow.