Game 1: Wayne State 4 Northern State 2
Game 2: Wayne State 7 Northern State 1
The Wayne State baseball team moved into sole possession of second place in the Northern Sun Conference Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader sweep over Northern State, winning 4-2 and 7-1. The 'Cats jumped out to quick starts in both wins, scoring twice in the first inning of the opener and scoring three times in the first inning of the second game. The wins make the Wildcats 19-14 overall and 14-3 in the NSIC. The losses drop the Wolves to 4-31 overall and 1-17 in the conference.
WSC fell behind 1-0 after the top of the first inning, but responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. Wendte started out the inning with a double to left center field. Justin Beranek laced a single to center field to advance Wendte to third. Beranek would advance to second base on a wild pitch. Senior Nick Bidroski the NSIC leader in doubles added to his lead as he doubled to left field scoring both Wendte and Beranek to give WSC a 2-1 lead.
The Wolves added a run in the fourth inning to tie the game at 2-2. The Wildcats bats were silenced until the sixth inning when they broke the 2-2 tie as John Plasha doubled down the left field line and would later score on an RBI single by Jake Ritzdorf. Wayne State would make it 4-2 in the seventh when Bidroski reached on a double and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Jarett Jackson.
The Wildcats' pitching staff was strong in game one as starter Tom Doran (4-1) went seven innings allowing two runs on five hits. Doran struck out five and only walked one Northern State batter. Trevor Reeves pitched a perfect eighth inning sitting the Wolves down in order. Josh Nelsen earned his second save of the season as the junior struck out two in the final inning to preserve the 4-2 win.
The Wildcats offense was led by Bidroski in game one as he went 2 for 3 with two RBI's and run scored. Bidroski extended his hit streak to 12 straight games. Jake Ritzdorf also went 2 for 3 with one RBI.
Wayne State jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning of game two as the runs paced the Wildcats offense. Wendte once again opened up the bottom of the first with a double as he laced the ball into left field. Beranek was then issued a walk followed by a Bidroski single to load the bases for Jackson who hit a sacrifice fly to left field scoring Wendte from third base to give WSC a 1-0 lead. One batter later Mike Bisenius hit a two run single up the middle to give Wayne State a 3-1 lead.
Northern state added their only run of the game in the top of the third inning to cut the deficit to 3-1. Wayne State added four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to jump out to a 7-1 lead. The inning was highlighted by a RBI single from Bidroski and an RBI double by Treye Hacker. The Wildcats also scored two runs on defensive miscues by the Wolves as Polk scored on failed pickoff attempt and Jackson scored on a wild pitch to give the Wildcats the 7-1 win.
Wayne State once again had strong starting pitching in game two as freshman Michael Frericks (1-2) went five innings allowing one run on five hits with three strike outs. Reid Lancaster would pitched the final two innings for WSC allowing only one hit while striking out two of seven batters faced.
Wendte went 2 for 3 in the ball game with a double and two runs scored. Bisenius and Bidroski each went 2 for 4 in the game. Bisenius added two RBI's and Bidroski added an RBI of his own in the ball game. Hacker and Jackson each added one RBI for WSC.
Wayne State will be at home again Sunday afternoon hosting Northern State in a doubleheader starting at noon at the Pete Chapman Baseball Complex.
