DWU earns Senior Day Split with NWU

MITCHELL, S.D. – On a day when the winningest senior class in team history was honored, the Dakota Wesleyan University softball team rebounded from a lopsided loss in game one with a gutsy victory in the finale to close the regular season in a Great Plains Athletic Conference doubleheader against Nebraska Wesleyan University Saturday at McWhirter Field in Mitchell, S.D.

The Tigers found themselves on the wrong end of an 11-1 five-inning loss in game one. Freshman pitcher Sierra Haage (Sioux Falls, S.D.) carried a no hitter into the seventh inning of game two and the Tigers held off a NWU rally with sparkling defense to earn 2-1 victory in game two. The split is the first of the GPAC season for DWU, moving the Tigers to 32-20 overall and 15-7 in the conference.

With several games remaining on the schedule for most of the conference, DWU will wait to see where it will play the opening round of the GPAC tournament. With nine games left, Hastings College is the lone team that can catch DWU for third place, while the Tigers have a slim chance at reaching Doane College for second and the right to host one of the GPAC opening round pools.

The Senior Day celebration got off to a rocky start with Nebraska Wesleyan pounding out 15 hits, scoring three in the third, four in the fourth and three in the fifth to close game one in five innings.

Freshman shortstop Savannah Ahumada (Turlock, Calif.) and senior third baseman Vanessa Mendez each finished with two hits, while senior catcher Hailey Unger (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) picked up the lone DWU RBI on a single.

The loss went to freshman pitcher Hallie Misiaszek (Mitchell, S.D.), allowing five runs on eight hits, while walking one and striking out four.

After a combined 24 hits in the first game, both teams struggled offensively in the finale. The first hit for either team came off the bat of Haage in the bottom of the fourth. The Tigers finally broke the ice on the scoreboard when Haage picked up her second hit of the game with two outs in the sixth, a single to drive home Unger.

After a walk, Mendez came through in her final at bat at McWhirter Field with an RBI single to give DWU an important insurance run.

Haage's no-hit bid was thwarted by the first batter in the 7^th and NWU got a run on a single later in the inning. With the tying run on third base, Mendez came up clutch one more time with a diving stab at third to shut the door and secure the win. Haage moves to 14-6 on the season, allowing one run on two hits, while striking out two.

The Tigers fate for the postseason will be determined over the next week as the rest of the GPAC plays out the regular season.