Game 1 - Minot State 5 Wayne State 2
Game 2 - Minot State 6 Wayne State 4
Minot State rallied late with four runs in the opener for a 5-2 win, then held off a late Wayne State rally in the second game for a 6-4 victory to complete a Northern Sun Conference baseball sweep over the Wildcats Tuesday afternoon at the Pete Chapman Baseball Complex in Wayne. Minot State is now 12-13 overall and 6-4 in the league while WSC falls to 11-12 and 5-5 in NSIC games.
The opener saw the visiting Beavers rally with two runs in the sixth and seventh innings to take a 5-2 win over the Wildcats.
WSC opened the scoring in the second inning on a
Noah Roberts RBI double down the right field line that scored
Colin Lynam, who singled, to put the Wildcats out front early.
After Minot State evened the score in the top of the fourth with one run, WSC regained the lead in the bottom of the frame on a
Conner Fiene singled to center field that drove home Lynam, who led off the inning with a single.
But the visiting Beavers used a double, triple and sacrifice fly in the sixth to score two runs, taking a 3-2 lead, and added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh on a two-run homer to make the final score 5-2.
Wayne State had one more hit in the contest than Minot State 8-7.
Colin Lynam finished 2 for 2 with a pair of singles and two runs scored while
Alex Logelin went 2 for 4 with a double.
Noah Roberts also doubled while Fiene,
Chase Douglas and
Cade Lynam each singled.
Starting pitcher
Keean Allen (1-1) suffered the pitching loss, allowing four hits and three runs over 5 1/3 innings with six strikeouts and one walk. Senior lefthander
Andrew Staebell worked the remaining 1 2/3 innings and was charged with two runs on three hits.
The second game saw a late Wildcat rally fall just short as Minot State completed the sweep with a 6-4 win.
The Beavers took a 2-0 lead in the third inning and posted four runs in the fourth inning for a 6-0 advantage.
The score remained 6-0 until the Wildcats started to rally in the seventh inning. Senior center fielder
Alex Logelin belted a solo homer to get WSC on the scoreboard. Later in the inning,
Andrew Hanson scored when he reached on a Beaver fielding error and crossed home plate when
Chris Cornish reached on another error to cut the Minot lead to 6-2.
WSC cut into the Minot State lead again in the eighth when Logelin connected for another homer, this time a two-run shot that scored
Conner Fiene (walk) to reduce the Beaver advantage to 6-4.
The 'Cats got the tying run to the plate in the ninth after
Noah Roberts posted a two out single but WSC ended the game on a line out to right field as Minot State held on for the 6-4 win.
Wayne State had six hits in the game, led by Logelin's two homers going 2 for 5 with three RBI. Cornish was 2 for 4 with a pair of singles and RBI.
Chase Douglas doubled while Roberts singled to close out Wayne State's six hits.
Cade Herrmann (1-2) was tagged with the pitching loss working 3 1/3 innings.
Josh Renken fired 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief with three strikeouts while freshman lefthander
Jacob Kneifl worked the final two innings of scoreless relief.
The Wildcats are scheduled to visit Bemidji State this weekend for a three-game NSIC series with a doubleheader set for Saturday at 1:30 p.m. followed by a nine-inning game at noon Sunday in Bemidji, Minnesota.
