ORANGE CITY, Iowa – Headed down the final stretch of the 2022 regular season, the Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team battled conference foe Northwestern College in a pivotal doubleheader on Friday afternoon from Baseball Diamond complex in Orange City Iowa. Senior pitcher Dawson Penticoff collected the complete game on bump, and Dakota Wesleyan overcame a 6-4 loss in the opener with a must-have, 12-4 victory in game two.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Northwestern opened the scoring in the first game with a 3-run homerun to right field in the bottom of the second inning and rang four runs on three hits to take the initial, 4-0 lead. NWC outfielder Drew Dykstra registered the deep shot and led all hitters in the contest with three RBI. Northwestern infielder Jaden Snyder continued the Raider's (16-18, 8-10 GPAC) hot start with an RBI double to left center in the fourth stanza while NWC balanced a five-run benefit.
After an anemic start for the Dakota Wesleyan offense, junior catcher Wyatt Hunt broke through for the Tiger's (11-20,5-13 GPAC) first hit of the afternoon with a lead-off single to start the fifth stanza. Daulton Wilcoxen followed suit with an infield knock, and Michael Zeman concluded the inning by driving in multiple unearned runs. The Blue and Gray trimmed the Northwestern edge to 6-2 through five complete frames.
A sacrifice fly by Matt Bezdicek and a single to right field by Luke LeMay granted DWU an opportunity in the final two frames. Though, Dakota Wesleyan's bid at a comeback was denied in spite of a hit back up the middle by Kyler Halverson, in the seventh inning, and Northwestern claimed the 6-4 win. Carter Gullickson and Cameron Quigley also chipped in runs scored in the opener for the Tigers.
A sense of urgency once again surrounded Dakota Wesleyan in game two, and the Tigers sprinted out to a hot start at the plate. Quigley placed a double down the left field line to begin the first stanza as DWU tallied a trio of doubles in the finale and managed the initial 2-0 edge.
In the second frame, the Blue and Gray scored a game-high five runs beginning with a Drew Kitchens base-on balls. Tiger freshman infielder Zeman continued his efficient approach in the box with a single back up the middle and finished with a pair of RBI to help DWU to the three-run advantage. Back-to-back RBI singles meanwhile by Hunt and Bezdicek later in the inning pushed Dakota Wesleyan to a 7-0 start through two complete frames.
Granted the seven-run support, Penticoff went to work on the mound clocking scoreless stanzas in the first two innings while surrendering just one Northwestern hit. The Tiger offense tacked on an additional four runs over the next three frames, and Penticoff, the righthanded pitcher from Rapid, City, S.D. escaped the third and fourth innings with multiple flyouts. Offensively, the Blue and Gray plated an insurance run in its final at-bat, and Penticoff and the Tigers retired the Raiders in order in the bottom of the seventh for the 12-4 road victory.
LeMay and Hunt registered three RBI each while Gullickson tallied three hits at the plate. Kitchens clocked an efficient performance as well going 3-for-3 in the box as Penticoff ended his day relinquishing just six hits and fanning a trio of Raider hitters.
UP NEXT
Head coach Charlie Dubanoski and the Tigers finish off the four-game series versus the Raiders with another doubleheader set for 1 p.m. tomorrow from Cadwell Park in Mitchell, S.D.