TIGER BASEBALL PICKS UP FIRST CONFERENCE WIN IN SPLIT WITH DEFENDERS
Sioux Center, Iowa – The Dakota Wesleyan Tiger baseball squad earned a split with the Dordt Defenders picking up their first conference win of the season on a walk off walk 4-3 comeback win in game one. DWU faced a 3-1 deficit going into the final two frames and clawed their way back plating one in the sixth and two in the seventh without recording an out in the inning. Troy Wilhelm came up big when his team needed him most out of the bullpen tossing four shutout relief innings and picking up the win in the process. Diego Jirau turned in a quality day at the dish going 4 for 6 and the game winning RBI via a walk with bases loaded in game one. The Tigers loss game two by a score of 10-3 in seven innings. Dakota Wesleyan sits at 4-17 (1-9 GPAC) while Dordt's record after the split is 14-12 (2-6 GPAC).
Quick Stats Game 1:
Hitters-
- Diego Jirau – 2 for 3, 2B, 2 Runs, RBI, BB
- Daulton Wilcoxen – 1 for 2, RBI, HBP
Pitchers-
- Jereko Martinez – 3.0 innings, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
- Troy Wilhelm – 4.0 inning, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 K, Win (1-0)
Recap-
Jereko Martinez got the nod for DWU in game one and worked out of what could have been a big inning for the Defenders having bases loaded but Martinez left them loaded only surrendering the one run. The Dakota Wesleyan first two hitters were retired via the punchout, but got a two out rally going with Diego Jirau double to center and Daulton Wilcoxen coming up with the timely RBI single to left to knot the game up at 1-1 after one frame. In the second Martinez struggled to find the zone, issuing two walks and hitting a batter. Dordt plated two runs thanks to a balk called on Martinez who looked to get crossed up with the signs from Brady Christoffels and then on a groundout to second baseman Drew Kitchens who made his second flashy play of the day. The Defenders scored two runs with zero hits in the inning. Dakota Wesleyan went down in order in the bottom half keeping it at 3-1.
Martinez settled in and found the zone tossing a clean third frame with one punchout leaving it a 3-1 ballgame. DWU continued to get men on early with in the bottom half Kalub Carmichael leading off with a walk and advancing to second on a wild pitch but like most of the season would stay there leaving a man in scoring position with the next three hitters being retired and not finding that clutch hit. DOR got a leadoff single which ended Martinez day on the mound going 3.0 innings, 4 hits, 3 earned runs and 5 walks/hit batters. Troy Wilhelm would be the first arm out of the pen like he has been for most of the first half of the Tigers season. Wilhelm got some help from his catcher, Christoffels, who threw out two Defender runners trying to steal a bag. One at second base and the other at third base to end the inning and leave it at 3-1.
DWU went scoreless in the bottom of the fourth and fifth, struggling to get much going against the hard throwing Dordt right hander, Gyeongju Kim who picked up his ninth strikeout of the game. Wilhelm cruised through the Defenders in the top half of the fifth and sixth, locating his offspeed well, keeping the Defender hitters off balanced to keep it a 3-1 ballgame. Bottom of the sixth the Tigers plated one run on Kim to close the gap to 3-2. DWU collected two hits in the inning with Carter Gullickson collecting the RBI on a groundout. Wilhelm continued to dice on the mound putting up another zero to give his squad a chance at a comeback in the bottom of the seventh with a 3-2 game.
The Tigers would do just that picking up the walk off win and not recording an out in the process. DWU strung together quality at bat after at bat, handing it down to the next guy and not trying to do too much. Seth Christiansen picked up the game tying RBI single followed by Jirau getting walked with the bases loaded to walk it off for a 4-3 comeback win.
Quick Stats Game 2:
Hitters-
- Seth Christiansen – 2 for 4
- Diego Jirau – 2 for 3, BB
- Jake Kostenbauer – 2 for 3, RBI, Run, 2B
Head-to-Head (Dordt):
- Dakota Wesleyan is now 5-8 all-time against Dordt after today's losses.*
- The Tigers last year dropped both games against the Defenders by scores of 4-0 and 1-0.
Up Next: The Dakota Wesleyan Baseball team returns to the diamond with a four-game series against Briar Cliff with the first two games on Thursday, April 6th and the final two on the 8th.
