Fremont, Neb. –
Dakota Wesleyan Baseball braved the cold weather in a GPAC matchup this afternoon. In game one, Midland would put the first run on the board in the bottom of the first inning. The Tigers bounced right back and answered the Warriors. Caleb Meyers would be walked in his first at bat and two batters later he would steal second when the Warriors weren't paying attention. Landon Ruesink also walked in his first at back, putting two runners on for the Tigers. Looking to score, the Tiger coaching staff had Nate Meyers pinch hit and he smoked a ball into center for a double and the Tigers put two on the board as C. Meyers and Ruesink scored on the two RBI double. The Tigers defense would knock the Warriors down in order in the bottom of the second and do it against in the third to hold onto the 2-1 lead after three. Midland would get runners into scoring position with one out in the fourth. A Warrior batter would single into center and score the game at 2-2. Middle of the fifth the Tigers found themselves in scoring position with Lane Darrow on second. Seth Christiansen stepped up to the plate and grounded out to the short stop and Midland made an error that Darrow took advantage of and scored to take the lead back, 3-2. DWU would send the Warriors batters back to the dugout with a strike out and two fielded balls to end the fifth. Tigers had a 3-2 lead going into the sixth, they needed to retire the Midland batters, but the Warriors had other plans. Midland would put up three scores and then held off the Tigers seventh inning comeback attempt, defeating DWU 5-3.
Game two the Tigers wouldn't find a way to the dish until the fourth inning. With Drew Kitchens on first, Christiansen would smack the ball over the right field fence for a two-run homer, making it 4-2 Midland. In the same inning, Ryan McGinnis sent Zeman home after reaching first on a Warrior error. DWU trailed 4-3 after leaving the fourth inning. DWU would score two more runs, one in the fifth and one in the sixth but Midland put up four runs in the fifth inning alone. Dakota Wesleyan now trailed 5-9 heading into the seventh. In the final three frames, DWU would not be able to get anyone back home for scores, leaving five runners stranded between the three innings. Midland scored one run each in the seventh and eighth and took the commanding 11-5 lead to defeat DWU in game 2.
Up Next for the Tigers –
DWU is schedule to take on Augustana in a single game on March 26th. The Tigers will hit the road and travel to Sioux Falls and throw the first pitch at 4:00 p.m.