MITCHELL, S.D. – If one game could sum up the 2015 Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team it happened Tuesday night. The Tigers overcame early mistakes and a 6-1 deficit to top Midland University in the championship game of the Great Plains Athletic Conference postseason tournament at Cadwell Park in Mitchell, S.D.
The Tigers committed five errors and fell behind, but battled back with strong pitching and clutch hitting to top the Warriors 7-6 and earn an automatic berth in the NAIA Opening Round. The site and first opponent for the Tigers will be decided on Friday.
"I am extremely proud of these guys and for the work that they put in to get to this point," DWU coach John Greicar said. "They have battled all year and this team deserves this."
The tournament title is the fourth overall for the Tigers and the first for the team since 2009. The win came in a rematch of last year's title game, which Midland won in Mitchell.
The game did not start the way the Tigers envisioned, with DWU committing five errors leading to six Midland runs through the first five innings. The Warriors led 6-1, and despite finding ways to get on base, the Tigers could not break through.
DWU found its footing at the plate in the fifth inning and tightened up on defense to keep Midland off the board the rest of the way. After senior Tyler Johnson (Elizabeth, Colo.) singled home a run in the fifth, sophomore Michael Johnson (Huron, S.D.) scored on an error to cut the Midland lead to 6-3.
After starting pitcher Joey Fitzgerald (Fairmont, Minn.) set the Warriors down in order in the sixth, DWU kept rolling at the plate. The scoring started in the sixth for the Tigers with an RBI double for senior Ben Ladner (Delray Beach, Fla.) followed by an RBI sacrifice fly off the bat of Tyler Johnson. The Tigers tied the score at six with an RBI single from sophomore Jared Neilan (Pierre, S.D.).
In the seventh inning, it was DWU that took advantage of an error, as junior Cole Wenande (Alexandria, S.D.) advanced to second base after a single on a throwing error to start the inning. Wenande came in to score the go ahead, and eventual game-winning run for the Tigers on an RBI single from junior Austin Calhoon (Winner, S.D.).
Despite six Midland runs, Fitzgerald had a strong performance and worked around five errors to limit the damage and keep his team in position to win. He tossed eight innings, allowing six runs, four earned on seven hits, while striking out four. Sophomore Will Lutjen (Miller Place, N.Y.) threw a perfect ninth inning for the save.
At the plate, DWU pounded out 15 hits, led by sophomore Tyler Waddle (Huron, S.D.) with three hits. Ladner, junior Neil Nagle (Oslo, Minn.) and Calhoon each finished with two hits.
The Tigers returned to the .500 mark overall after starting the season 9-17. DWU, now 24-24, await who and where it will play in the NAIA Opening Round.
