BEZDICEK BELTS WALK-OFF HOMERUN, DAKOTA WESLEYAN CLAIMS 13-11, BACK-AND-FORTH AFFAIR OVER SPIRIT

TUCSON, Ariz. – For the second time in three days, the Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team battled neutral-site opponent Ottawa University (Ariz.), and Dakota Wesleyan held on for the back-and-forth victory, 13-11, on Thursday afternoon from the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Ariz. Matt Bezdicek, who notched a game-high four RBIs, sealed the two-run victory with a walk-off homerun in the bottom of the ninth inning.

HOW IT HAPPENED

On par, Dakota Wesleyan raced out to another quick start to open the contest and scored four runs in the first inning. The Tigers (5-3) tallied seven extra-base knocks including doubles from Bradley Skorczewski and Carter Gullickson while the Blue and Gray capitalized on the early momentum. Wyatt Hunt also registered multiple RBIs off a triple, and DWU held the initial 4-0 advantage over Ottawa (Ariz.).

Offensively, the Spirit (9-15) bounced back with three runs of their own in the third and fourth stanza while the lead switched hands several times throughout the afternoon. Seth Christiansen spanned five innings meanwhile in the start for Dakota Wesleyan and fanned a trio of OUAZ hitters as Ottawa narrowed the deficit to 4-3 midway through the fourth inning.

The Tiger offense added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth frame, and four DWU batters ended the outing with 2-or-more RBIs. Despite the three-run benefit, OUAZ scored a combined seven runs in the sixth and seventh stanzas and managed its first lead at 10-9 as the game reached the middle of the seventh frame.

Daulton Wilcoxen and Bradley Dean entered the game in relief at the start of the sixth inning and chipped in a combined five strikeouts to position the DWU offense late in the game. Both teams scratched across runs in the eighth inning as the score sat knotted at 11-11 with six outs to play. The Tiger defense held their own in the top of the ninth stanza, and Bezdicek sealed the 13-11 victory with one swing in the bottom half of the ninth.

 Dakota Wesleyan tallied six base-on balls while Bezdicek and Gullickson combined for seven hits in the single-game affair.Skorczewski dialed another two hits, and DWU raked in 14 hits and a pair of homeruns. Cameron Quigley and Luke LeMay paced the Tigers on the bases with a stolen base each.

UP NEXT

Head coach Charlie Dubanoski and the Tigers hit the diamond one final time in Arizona with a matchup against NCAA Division III challenger Wheaton College at 1:30 p.m. (12:30) MST tomorrow from the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Ariz.