Game 1 - Wayne State 11 Concordia-St. Paul 6
Game 2 - Wayne State 11 Concordia-St. Paul 2
Senior outfielder Mike Bisenius was 7 for 9 with two homers, three doubles and five RBI's in his final home doubleheader of his Wildcat career to power the Wildcats in a 11-6 and 11-2 Northern Sun Conference baseball sweep over Concordia-St. Paul Sunday afternoon at the Pete Chapman Baseball Complex in Wayne. WSC has now won eight straight games, improving to 32-16 overall and 23-9 in the NSIC while Concordia-St. Paul ends the season at 21-25 overall and 12-20 in league play.
In game one, the Wildcats recorded a season-high 17 hits as eight of the nine WSC starters recorded at least one hit and six players had two or more hits as WSC recorded an 11-6 win. Wayne State scored one run in the bottom of the first inning as Mike Bisenius doubled down the right field line to score Braulio Acosta. The Wildcats would then tack on two runs in the bottom of both the second and third innings to extend their lead to 5-0 after three innings of play.
Concordia-St. Paul scored one run in the top of the fourth inning to make the score 5-1, but WSC would pour on six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to break the game open at 11-1 after five innings. Brett Keim singled to score Jake Ritzdorf to start off the scoring, Luke Abkes doubled to left field to score Mike Servais, Braulio Acosta singled to bring home Keim, Bisenius singled to score Abkes, and Travis Parsons capped the six-run inning with a single to center field that scored Bisenius and Justin Beranek on the play. The Golden Bears would score four runs in the top of the sixth inning and one run in the top of the seventh to cut the final score to 11-6.
Mike Bisenius, Mike Servais and Brett Keim led the Wildcats with three hits each while Luke Abkes, Jake Ritzdorf and C.J. Nolen had two hits apiece. Bisenius, Travis Parsons, C.J. Nolen, Keim and Abkes all had two RBI's in game one for the Wildcats.
Sophomore Mike Frericks worked six strong innings to improve his season record to 4-0, allowing five runs (three earned) over six innings with four strikeouts. Freshman Matt Schulz pitched the final inning and allowed one run on one walk.
The second game saw Bisenius homer twice going 4 for 5 and the Wildcats broke open a close game with seven runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to complete the sweep with an 11-2 win over the Golden Bears. Bisenius opened scoring in the first with a solo homer for a 1-0 Wildcat lead. WSC scored twice in the second on a Braulio Acosta two-run single for a 3-0 advantage.
After Concordia scored two runs in the top of the third to trim the lead to 3-2, WSC took a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the third with Bisenius singled and crossed home plate on a Jake Ritzdorf single. The score remained the same until the 'Cats erupted for seven runs in the bottom of the eight, highlighted by a Bisenius two-run homer and a Justin Beranek two-run triple, as the Wildcats went on to the 11-2 win.
Bisenius played a game to remember in his final home game as Wildcat, going 4 for 5 with two homers and three RBI's to lead a 14-hit attack. Beranek was 2 for 5 with a triple and two RBI's while Brett Keim doubled twice going 2 for 4 with an RBI. Cris Ely also had two hits for WSC in the win.
Freshman Nick Ragan (3-1) pitched 7 2/3 innings to earn the win, allowing two runs on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Taylor Simmonds recorded one out facing one batter while junior lefthander Trevor Reeves worked the final inning retiring all three batters he faced.
Wayne State now plays in the Northern Sun Conference baseball tournament Wednesday through Saturday, May 9-12, in Mankato, Minnesota. Pairings will be announced Sunday evening following the completion of all regular season games in the league.
