MITCHELL, S.D. - On a windy spring evening, opening day commenced the scene at Cadwell Park while the Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team handled in-state foe Presentation College, 12-3, in a non-conference, midweek tilt on Tuesday in Mitchell, S.D. Senior righthanded pitcher Bradley Dean was dominant on the mound while sophomore infielder Seth Christiansen funneled the energy at the plate, and Dakota Wesleyan cruised to the single-game victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Dean, the 6-foot senior from Pierre, S.D., came out firing on the mound in the first inning in just his second start of the season. He induced a pair of groundouts to commence the outing along with a swift strikeout out to retire Presentation in order. The Dakota Wesleyan offense answered the call as all nine DWU hitters came to the plate in the bottom of the first inning.
Senior infielder Carter Gullickson and Cameron Quigley initiated the decisive offensive start with multiple singles, and Seth Christiansen kept the Tiger (7-9) bats moving with a one-out double. Christiansen, the Victor, Idaho, native paced the Blue and Gray with three hits including a pair of doubles. Drew Kitchens meanwhile concluded the frame by reaching on a PC error, and DWU sped out to the 4-0 lead.
Following another Dakota Wesleyan run in the second stanza, Matt Bezdicek continued his offensive tear at the plate with a solo homerun over the leftfield fence in the fourth inning. Christiansen, with his second extra-base knock of the outing, added a second run in the frame via a double to center field to score Daulton Wilcoxen. Dean, backed with a strong defensive effort and the 7-1 advantage, retired the Saints (3-23) in order through four of the first five frames and clocked three strikeouts in six innings of work.
The Dakota Wesleyan offense registered one final offensive surge in the sixth stanza off a Wilcoxen double and a Christiansen RBI single. Kyler Halverson also reached in the inning, and DWU worked four runs on three hits in the frame to build a 12-3 cushion.
Over the course of the final three innings, sophomore reliever Taylor McCart continued the dominant pitching with multiple strikeouts in his second appearance of the season. The righthander from Anchorage, Alaska opened the seventh inning with another PC strikeout while an unassisted, 4-3 double play by Kitchens denied any comeback by Presentation. Dakota Wesleyan, who surrendered just four hits in the outing, secured the convincing 12-3 home opener.
Wilcoxen paced DWU with three runs scored, and the Tigers notched eight walks in the single-game outing. Ryan McGinnis, in his fourth-career appearance, tallied a game-high three base-on balls as head coach Charlie Dubanoski's offense raked in 10 hits.
UP NEXT
The homestand continues on as Dakota Wesleyan is set to host conference challenger Doane University in a four-game series with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday from Cadwell Park in Mitchell, S.D.
