Scoring explosion helps DWU to split in Lincoln

LINCOLN, Neb. – For the second straight day, the Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team earned a Great Plains Athletic Conference doubleheader split, scoring 16 runs to take game two from Nebraska Wesleyan University Sunday in Lincoln, Neb.

The Tigers rallied in game one, but fell 6-3. DWU got the bats going in game two, putting up crooked numbers in five innings in a 16-11 win over the Prairie Wolves. The split moves DWU to 15-12 overall and 2-2 in the GPAC.

Game one saw the Tigers rally from a 4-0 deficit when senior Tyler Waddle (Huron, S.D.) hit a three-run double in the fifth, cutting the NWU lead to one. The Prairie Wolves added two more late to take the first game.

Junior Patrick Whetham (Garretson, S.D.) took the loss, allowing six runs, four earned in five and a third innings, while walking two and striking out three. The Tigers were held to three runs on three hits with two errors in the opener.

The Tiger bats came alive in the finale, as DWU finished with 16 runs on 15 hits and took advantage of six NWU errors. Junior Chris Combs (Corvallis, Mont.) led the barrage, going 4-for-5 with a triple and three RBIs and a pair of runs scored. Waddle, Cole Wenande (Alexandria, S.D.), Dominic Sebastiani (San Francisco, Calif.) and Peyton Price (Norfolk, Neb.) each added two hits and two RBIs.

Freshman Jace Saxon (Harrisburg, S.D.) came in for a relief appearance, keeping NWU off the board for three and a third innings, allowing a single hit. Saxon picked up the win and is 3-0 on the season.

DWU returns home for a nonconference doubleheader with Presentation College at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Cadwell Park in Mitchell, S.D.