The Wayne State baseball team suffered a pair of losses at Augustana in Northern Sun Conference baseball Tuesday evening in Sioux Falls by scores of 6-2 and 12-8.  The Wildcats drop to 20-16 on the season and are now tied for fourth in the NSIC with a 16-11 league record while host Augustana is 26-11 and 20-7 in NSIC play.
            Despite just recording two hits in the opener, WSC was in the game with Augustana until the bottom of the sixth inning when the host Vikings scored three times to grab a 6-2 win.
            Augustana scored three runs in the third to chase Wildcat starter Kyler Hanson and trailed 3-0 until the sixth inning when WSC scored two runs to cut the Viking advantage to 3-2.
            Taylor Gill and Quinn McCafferty drew walks to start the frame.  Nate Cunningham had the lone hit of the inning, an RBI single to left field, that brought home Gill with the first Wildcat run.  McCafferty later scored on a Braden Cannon sacrifice fly for the second run.
            The host Vikings stopped any chances of a Wildcat comeback with three runs in the bottom of the sixth on just two hits, using three walks and a hit batter by WSC pitching, to score their three runs for the 6-2 win.
            Wayne State had just two hits in the opener – a third inning double from Chase Douglas and Cunningham's RBI single in the sixth.
            Hanson (1-1) suffered the pitching loss giving up three runs on just one hit over 2 1/3 innings with four walks and one strikeout.  Reliever Conlin Grady worked the next three innings, giving up three runs on four hits, while Clement Febus finished the game pitching the final 2/3 innings. 
            The second game saw the Vikings use a four-run eighth inning to break an 8-8 tie as Augustana completed the sweep with a 12-8 win.
            Wayne State's first run of the game came in the second inning on a Brayden Chaney single to tie the score early at 1-1.
            Augustana erupted for five runs in the bottom of the second on six hits to grab a 6-1 lead, but the Wildcats battled back with four runs in the fourth to cut the deficit to 6-5.  Braden Cannon walked and later touched home plate on a wild pitch for the first run.  Catcher Casey Prychak doubled and scored on Cam Madsen's single for the second run.  Chaney walked and scored on a Viking throwing error after stealing third base for another run while Taylor Gill's double to right center drove home Madsen with the final run of the inning.
            The Vikings produced two runs in the fifth to take an 8-5 lead, but the 'Cats rallied and scored one in the sixth and two in the eighth to even the score at 8-8.  Madsen singled and scored on a Chase Douglas groundout in the sixth.  In the eighth, the 'Cats took advantage of two Augustana errors to go with a single from Chaney to plate two runs and tie the game.
            But Augustana strung together four straight hits along with a walk with two outs to score four runs in the bottom of the eighth to seal the sweep with a 12-8 win.
            WSC was outhit 17-7 in the contest.  Madsen finished 2 for 5 with three runs scored.  Gill went 2 for 5 with a double while Chaney singled twice to go with an RBI and one run scored. 
            Senior reliever Jacob Kneifl (1-1), the fifth Wildcat pitcher used in the game, was tagged with the loss in the eighth inning charged with four runs on three hits and two walks. 
            Wayne State is on the road this weekend as the 'Cats travel to St. Cloud for a three-game NSIC series vs. St. Cloud State starting with a doubleheader Friday at 1:30 p.m. and a nine-inning game Saturday at 12 p.m.