YANKTON, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team, who returned to the diamond for another early season conference doubleheader, battled in-state rival Mount Marty University to an even split on Sunday afternoon from Bob Tereshinski Stadium in Yankton, S.D. Mount Marty registered a 13-2 win in the opener while Dakota Wesleyan grinded out a tedious, 9-5 final in the rubber match for its first Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) victory of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Locked in a defensive affair, the Dakota Wesleyan offense once again, right on cue struck first and took the initial 1-0 lead midway through the fifth inning. Kyler Halverson kickstarted the action at the plate with a single while Carter Gullickson ensued with another knock. The senior duo combined for five hits in the opener, and Matt Bezdicek eventually reached via a Mount Marty error to grant the Tigers (6-9, 1-3 GPAC) the advantage.
Jereko Martinez, in his third appearance of the season, funneled the energy for the Blue and Gray right out of the gate. The Riverton, Wyo., native fanned a Lancer (17-6, 3-1 GPAC) hitter in the first frame as Wyatt Hunt highlighted the strikeout with a laser to second base to retire the baserunner. In the third and fourth stanzas, Martinez canned two more Mount Marty batters including the final out in the third frame, and the 5-foot-10, righthanded pitcher dialed four strikeouts through five innings of work.
Mount Marty bounced back for a decisive 13 runs across the fifth and sixth innings. Conner Capps, the 6-foot sophomore from Discovery Bay, Calif. helped fuel the spark with a multi-RBI double in the sixth stanza. Capps tallied a team-high three RBIs while the Lancers finished with a trio of doubles and led 13-1 through six complete innings.
Halverson concluded first game with a solo homerun in the seventh inning, nevertheless, Mount Marty secured the 13-2 win.
Looking to flip the momentum in the rubber match, Bezdicek and DWU jumped out to another quick start right away in the first frame. Cameron Quigley led off with a single, and Bezdicek, who finished with three RBIs in the series belted a two-run homerun which granted Dakota Wesleyan a 2-0 benefit.
Hunt continued the offensive efficiency in the fourth stanza with an RBI double, and the Blue and Gray extended its lead to 4-0 through five complete innings. Jacob Glovich, meanwhile, marched forward on the mound as the Sioux Falls, S.D., native executed five scoreless innings of work and ended the outing with four strikeouts.
Undaunted, the Lancers answered the call with a run in the sixth stanza and a game-high four runs in the eighth frame to pull within one, 6-5, with one inning to play. Another Hunt single in the Tiger's final trip through the order, however; provided Dakota Wesleyan with a trio of insurance runs. Daulton Wilcoxen and the DWU defense sealed the 9-5 victory with a strikeout and a pair of routine lineouts in Mount Marty's final chance at a comeback.
Hunt and Quigley struck three hits each, and Dakota Wesleyan raked in 11 hits in the finale. Three Tigers finished with 2-or-more RBIs including Bezdicek and Luke LeMay with two each while Gullickson chipped in a run scored.
UP NEXT
Hunt and the Tigers welcome non-conference and in-state challenger Presentation College to town as DWU is set to host the Saints in its home opener for a 9-inning, single-game affair at 5 p.m. on Tuesday from Cadwell Park in Mitchell, S.D.