BRANDON, S.D. – In spite of the frigid and cold conditions, the Dakota Wesleyan University baseball program handled in-state opponent Dakota State University by a score of 8-4 in neutral-site action on Wednesday evening from Aspen Park in Brandon, S.D. Both teams recorded 13 hits in the single-game affair, though it was a solid outing by senior Dawson Penticoff on the mound, and a timely homerun from Kalub Carmichael which kickstarted Dakota Wesleyan to the four-run victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Dakota State scratched across the first run of the game with two outs in the top of the first inning and garnered the initial 1-0 lead. Penticoff, unphased, surrendered just one earned run through five innings of work as the 6-foot-2, right-handed pitcher fanned four batters in the start. The Dakota Wesleyan offense meanwhile seized the game's momentum in the bottom half of the second frame.
Daulton Wilcoxen opened the inning for DWU with a single to left field followed by a hit that reached the gap off the bat of Matt Bezdicek. Bezdicek, who recorded a trio of runs scored, advanced to third on a double by Jacob Hammons, and the Tigers (1-2) knotted the game at 1-1. Carmichael concluded the offensive outburst with a three-run homerun down the left-field line as the Blue and Gray worked a 4-1 advantage over the Trojans (6-5).
DSU added a run in the third stanza on a single with two outs, however, Penticoff avoided any damage with a strike-three call to end the inning. In the bottom half of the third, Luke LeMay managed an RBI single to center field while Hammons continued the spark at the plate with a knock to right field. A junior infielder, Hammons notched a pair of RBIs on three hits, and Dakota Wesleyan held a 6-2 benefit after three frames.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Bezdicek clobbered a homerun which granted Dakota Wesleyan a five-run, 7-2 lead. Seth Christiansen, the right-handed pitcher from Victor, Idaho, took the mound in relief to begin the sixth stanza. Christiansen clocked five strikeouts over the final three innings while Dakota State stranded 13 baserunners in the contest.
Wilcoxen doubled with one out in the sixth stanza while Trayven Boellstorff scored in the eighth inning to give DWU the 8-2 edge. The Trojans attempted a late comeback with runs in the seventh and ninth innings, however, Christiansen and the Tigers secured the neutral-site win, 8-4.
Dakota Wesleyan registered six extra-base hits, led by Hammons with a pair of doubles, and Bezdicek chipped in three hits. Eight different Dakota Wesleyan batters recorded a hit in the game while Penticoff secured the win on the mound.
UP NEXT
Dakota Wesleyan returns to the diamond on Sunday as DWU travels to Arizona next week for a handful of neutral-site games over spring break. The Tigers start the road trip with a matchup versus NCAA Division II opponent Southwestern Minnesota State University at 4 p.m. on Sunday in Tucson, Ariz.