Baseball splits with William Penn

CRETE, Neb. – In its fifth and sixth games in three days, the Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team battled William Penn University for a doubleheader. DWU came away with a 2-0 victory in game one but dropped a 4-3 decision in game two on Monday in Crete, Neb.

 Seth Christiansen (Victor, Idaho) began with the hot hand on the mound as he struck out a pair of batters in the first inning to kick the game off. In the top half of the third frame, Drew DeMers (Winner, S.D.) knocked a two-run single to left field to put the Tigers (5-5) up 2-0.

 Christiansen went to work again as he struck out three batters over the next two innings. Over the final three innings, he only faced 10 batters as he and the DWU defense helped the Tigers secure the opening win of the day.

 Christiansen pitched the entire game as he struck out seven batters, allowing no runs and just six hits in the game. Despite only recording four hits in the contest, DeMers led the way with his two RBIs as he finished 1-for-2 at the plate.

 The Statesmen (9-4) began the second game quickly with three runs in the second frame to take an early 3-0 lead. It was a lead-off homerun that gave them a 1-0 advantage, followed by an RBI double and an RBI single later in the same inning that gave WPU an early cushion.

 After a pair of scoreless innings midway through the game, the Statesmen struck again, this time with an RBI single to center field to extend their lead to four runs.

 With just two frames to play, it was Luke LeMay (St. Paul, Minn.) that notched an RBI single to right field to put the Tigers on the scoreboard. One inning later, Tyler Torres (Novato, Calif.) drilled a two-run homerun over the left-field fence to give life to DWU. However, the Tigers were unable to complete the comeback, falling by one run.

 Torres led the team with two runs batted in and a homerun, as LeMay tallied a hit and an RBI. Wyatt Hunt (Rapid City, S.D.) finished 1-for-2 at the plate with a double, while Rick Strubel (Huron, S.D.) recorded two strikeouts on the mound.

 DWU returns to the diamond in a non-conference tilt against rival Mount Marty University. It will be one nine-inning contest with first pitch slated for 2 p.m. on Thursday in Yankton, S.D.