DAKOTA WESLEYAN’S COMEBACK FALLS SHORT VERSUS LANCERS IN YANKTON
YANKTON, S.D. - A pair of baserunners on the corners in the top of the ninth inning looked promising, though the Dakota Wesleyan University baseball program was unable to complete the comeback, falling to in-state foe Mount Marty University, 13-12, in a non-conference affair on Wednesday evening from Bob Tereshinski Stadium in Yankton, S.D. Senior duo Cameron Quigley and Carter Gullickson combined for a team-high six hits while Mount Marty stole the season rubber match.
YANKTON, S.D. - A pair of baserunners on the corners in the top of the ninth inning looked promising, though the Dakota Wesleyan University baseball program was unable to complete the comeback, falling to in-state foe Mount Marty University, 13-12, in a non-conference affair on Wednesday evening from Bob Tereshinski Stadium in Yankton, S.D. Senior duo Cameron Quigley and Carter Gullickson combined for a team-high six hits while Mount Marty stole the season rubber match.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Four batters into the game, Wyatt Hunt and the Dakota Wesleyan offense ignited the offensive showcase as the Tigers (13-22) raked in 16 hits including five extra-base knocks. Hunt, with his second homerun of the season, granted DWU a quick 2-run benefit after a Matt Bezdicek walk with two outs. Sophomore infielder Seth Christiansen meanwhile kept the line moving with an RBI single, and the Blue and Gray rattled off a 4-0 start after the top half of the first frame.
Mount Marty charged back with four runs on four hits in its opening trip to the plate helped by an RBI double off the bat of MMU outfielder David Richardson. Richardson paced Mount Marty with a team-high three runs scored, and the Lancers (29-12) extended their advantage to 8-4 headed into the top of the third stanza.
Luke LeMay led off the third frame with a double, and Daulton Wilcoxen executed the RBI knock to trim the MMU advantage to three. Quigley prolonged the inning with a successful sacrifice fly to plate another run while Mount Marty held a slight lead, 9-8, through three complete frames.
Following a 2-run swing by the Lancers to strengthen their aid, 11-8, the Blue and Gray responded once again with three runs in the fifth stanza and an additional run plated in the sixth inning. Gullickson, the senior from Dell Rapids, S.D., clocked his third long ball of the season with a two-run shot with zero outs. Jonathan LeBeau, who got the nod at the catcher position, also helped position Dakota Wesleyan with an RBI knock to score Christiansen.
Facing a 13-12 deficit, Logan Davis and Jacob Hammons granted DWU a chance with back-to-back, scoreless frames in the seventh and eighth innings on the mound in relief action. Down to its final three outs, Bezdicek reached on a dropped third strike while LeMay reached successfully on a sacrifice bunt. Though, MMU secured the win, 13-12, its 18th home victory of the 2022 campaign.
Gullickson matched a game-high four runs plated as five Tigers tallied 2-or-more hits. Taylor McCart and Brady Christoffels logged a combined five innings of work on the bump while Hammons struck out a pair of Mount Marty hitters in his return.
UP NEXT
Dakota Wesleyan ramps up Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) action with a twin bill versus league opponent Midland University on Friday at 4 p.m. in Fremont, Neb.