HASTINGS, Neb. – Seven quality innings from Jereko Martinez on the mound and a season-high three RBI from freshman Michael Zeman assisted the Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team to an even series split following a doubleheader matinee versus Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) opponent Hastings College on Sunday from Duncan Field in Hastings, Neb. Hastings grabbed the opener, 14-8, though Dakota Wesleyan answered the call with a sense of urgency in game two and ultimately secured the 9-4 road win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
HAS commenced the action with two runs plated in the bottom half of the first inning, though Daulton Wilcoxen and the Dakota Wesleyan offense responded with a game-high five runs in the top of the second stanza. Luke LeMay and Kyler Halverson ignited the energy with back-to-back singles, and Wilcoxen, the senior from Council Bluffs, Iowa matched the score, 2-2, with one swing of the bat. Cameron Quigley and Carter Gullickson ensued with an RBI each as the Tigers (10-19, 4-12 GPAC) snatched the early 5-2 advantage.
Seth Christiansen chalked up a hit in the third frame, however; Hastings produced nine more runs as the game reached the fifth inning and controlled an 11-6 benefit late in the opener. Matt Bezdicek launched a solo homerun to lead off the sixth stanza as DWU attempted a late comeback, and a knock from Gullickson plated one final Tiger run in Dakota Wesleyan's last at-bat. The Broncos (6-26, 2-14 GPAC) nevertheless registered the 14-8 home victory to open the doubleheader.
Gullickson and Wyatt Hunt tallied a pair of RBI while Christiansen paced DWU with two runs scored. Quigley, in his lead-off spot, notched two more base-on balls and extended his team-high walks drawn to 16 on the season. On the mound, Bradley Dean and Caleb Crist combined for four strikeouts in relief.
Responding with a sense of urgency in game two, Martinez, the 5-foot-10 native of Riverton, Wyo., and the Tigers leaped out to a fast start on the diamond. Zeman, the freshman infielder from Sioux Falls, S.D. and 1-of-8 DWU batters to record a hit, started the momentum with a double to left field in the second inning, and DWU scratched together a 2-0 edge. Dakota Wesleyan raked in five extra-base knocks at the plate in the finale while the hit scored both Kalub Carmichael and LeMay.
Martinez and the Dakota Wesleyan defense meanwhile held the Broncos in check as the HAS lineup was limited to just two walks and a pair of hits through four complete frames. The junior righthanded pitcher escaped the first stanza with a punchout while the DWU infield executed a 6-3 double play to log the final two outs of the third inning.
Offensively, Dakota Wesleyan furthered the damage with a game-high four runs in the third stanza and three more runs in the fourth inning. Hunt scorched a well-hit double to continue the energy in the third inning, and sophomore Ryan McGinnis followed suit with an extra-base hit to the outfield. Dakota Wesleyan maintained the advantage, 9-1, as the game reached the fifth inning and held on for the crucial 9-4 road victory.
In the start, Martinez clocked four strikeouts and relinquished just one earned run on three hits. Christiansen fanned three HAS hitters as well while three different DWU batters snagged 2-or-more RBI.
UP NEXT
Dakota Wesleyan concludes the road stand with a mid-week contest versus NCAA Division I opponent North Dakota State University at 5 p.m. on Tuesday from Tharaldson Park in Fargo, N.D.