Monday, April 20, 2009

Game 1 - #23 Wayne State 23 Northern State 15

Game 2 - #23 Wayne State 10 Northern State 1

           Wayne State College extended its current win streak to nine games and improved to 13-2 in the month of April with a 23-15 and 10-1 sweep over Northern State in Northern Sun Conference baseball played Monday afternoon in Redfield, South Dakota.  The Wildcats are now 30-8 overall and maintain a hold of first place in the NSIC with an 18-1 league mark while Northern State slips to 5-23 overall and 1-15 in league games.

            In the first game, Wayne State launched nine homers and pounded out a season-high 20 hits in a 23-15 slugfest with the Wolves.  A 12-run fourth-inning that saw Wayne State connect for seven homers in the inning, including two by junior Joe Wendte, was the difference in the game for WSC. 

            Brandon Polk was 3 for 3 with three runs scored and four RBI's with a sixth-inning grand slam to lead the 20-hit parade for the Wildcats.  Eric Bond was 3 for 5 with a homer.  Wendte finished 2 for 4 with two homers, a solo shot and a two-run blast all in the fourth inning, while Treye Hacker, Mike Bisenius, Nick Bidroski, John Plasha and Alex Koch also added homers for the Wildcats in the win.

            John Snyder (6-0) earned the pitching win, allowing three runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings.  He had six strikeouts and three walks.  Jim Sake, Tyler Gutierrez and Trenton Lee all saw action out of the bullpen for the Wildcats.

            The second game saw redshirt freshman Tom Doran toss a complete-game three-hitter as the Wildcats completed the sweep with a 10-1 victory.  Doran, now 3-0 on the season, lost a shutout in the seventh inning when Northern State's Nathan Zacher connected on a two-out solo homer for the Wolves.  Doran allowed just the one run on three hits with two strikeouts and one walk in the complete game effort.

            WSC had two big innings in the win, scoring five runs in the third and fourth in the sixth inning.  Mike Bisenius hit a grand slam to key the five-run third inning while Eric Bonds' three-run homer and a Taylor Welk solo homer were big hits for the Wildcats in the sixth inning.

            WSC finished with 14 hits in the win as Justin Hemauer was 4 for 5 with two runs scored to lead the way at the plate.  Bond finished 2 for 5 with three RBI's and two runs scored while Joe Wendte, Welk and Alex Koch each produced two hits in the win.  Bisenius, Bond and Welk homered for WSC in the second game, giving the Wildcats a total of 25 homers in the four-game series.

            Wayne State will be in action again on Wednesday, traveling to St. Cloud State for a key NSIC doubleheader scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m.