Baseball opens season against Kansas Wesleyan

SALINA, Kan. – The Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team opened its' 2020 campaign against Kansas Wesleyan University and finished the weekend 1-2 versus the Coyotes on Saturday and Sunday in Salina, Kan.

 In the lone game on Saturday, the Tigers defeated the Coyotes 4-3. In the second inning, Wyatt Hunt (Rapid City, S.D.) scored on a wild pitch to hand DWU an early lead.

 Three frames later, the Tigers tacked on three more runs beginning with a Tyler Torres (Novato, Calif.) walk with the bases loaded. During the following at-bat, Drew DeMers (Winner, S.D.) and Cameron Quigley (Newcastle, Wyo.) each scored following a throwing error.

 The Coyotes attempted a comeback with a run in the eighth inning and a pair of runs in the final frame, but the Tigers fended off the comeback attempt to win the opening game of the season.

 Torres finished 1-for-3 with an RBI, as Quigley went 1-for-2 with a run scored. Dominique Boerger (Mibank, S.D.) picked up the win on the mound as he pitched 4.2 innings and struck out five batters and allowed just three hits.

 In the first game on Sunday, DWU fell by a score of 14-5. It was seven runs scored in the first two innings for the Coyotes that gave them an early lead.

 The Tigers cut into the deficit with a Joseph Hanisch (Hartford, S.D.) RBI single in the fourth frame. However, KWU added seven runs in the bottom half of the inning to push its' lead to 14-1.

 DWU attempted a late rally with four runs in the final inning, beginning with a Quigley RBI single, but it fell short as the Tigers dropped the matchup.

 In the final game of the day DWU fell to KWU, 5-2. After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, the Tigers took the lead in the fifth frame. DeMers hit a sacrifice fly to center field to tie the game. One batter later, Quigley singled to left field to bring Carter Gullickson (Dell Rapids, S.D.) home and hand the Tigers a 2-1 advantage.

 However, a four-run bottom of the sixth inning for the Coyotes pushed them past the Tigers in the final game of the day.

 Quigley finished the day 3-for-6 with two RBIs and a run scored, as Hanisch went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Patrick Starr (Overland Park, Kan.) pitched three innings and struck out three batters, while allowing just one earned run.

 The Tigers take the diamond next against Mayville State University at 2 and 4 a.m. on Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn.