Wayne State nearly rallied from a 14-4 sixth inning deficit in the first game, falling 15-14 to Minot State in the opening game of an NSIC baseball doubleheader Tuesday afternoon at the Pete Chapman Baseball Complex in Wayne. Minot State continued the offensive attack in the second game and completed the sweep with a 15-6 win over WSC in a game that called after 7 ½ innings due to darkness. The Wildcats drop to 5-9 and 4-6 in the NSIC while Minot State is 9-5 and 7-2 in league games.
The opener saw Wayne State trail 14-4 entering the bottom of the sixth inning when the Wildcats began their comeback with an eight-run inning, cutting the Beavers lead to 14-12.
A grand slam from senior second baseman Peyton Barnes capped the offensive explosion. The only other hit of the inning was an RBI single by Alex Logelin as the Wildcats took advantage of three walks, two hit batters and one Minot State error to spark the rally.
Minot State added what proved to be an important insurance run in the top of the seventh to take a 15-12 lead.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Wildcats got a two-run single from Logelin that scored Kaleb Holm (single) and Andrew Hanson to pull within one at 15-14.
The Cats had runners on first and second with one out, but Minot State got out of the jam with a game-ending double play to hang on for the 15-14 win.
Barnes led WSC at the plate going 2 for 3 with seven RBI – a three-run homer in the first and grand slam in the sixth. Logelin finished 4 for 5 with three RBI while Holm was 2 for 3 with two runs scored. Bryce Bisenius added a solo homer for the Wildcats.
Wayne State used six pitchers in the game. Starter Trenton Frerichs (1-2) was tagged with the loss.
The second game saw Minot State take advantage of six WSC errors while collecting 13 hits for a 15-6 win that was called due to darkness after 7 ½ innings were played.
After Minot State opened with a 3-0 lead in the first, WSC tied the score at 3-3 in the bottom of the second on a three-run double from Logelin.
The Beavers then produced an eight-run third inning on seven hits and three Wildcat errors to take an 11-3 lead.
Wayne State got a solo homer from Logelin in the fifth while Bisenius delivered a two-run single in the sixth to round out the Wildcats scoring in the 15-6 setback.
Bisenius went 3 for 3 with two RBI to pace WSC at the plate while Logelin was 2 for 4 with a homer, double and four RBI.
Wildcat starter Brody Sintek, one of five Wildcat pitchers, suffered the loss. Reliever Grant Carl closed the game with two innings of perfect relief striking out four of the six batters he faced.
The Wildcats begin a 13-game NSIC road trip starting Friday with a doubleheader at #26 Minnesota Crookston starting at 1:30 p.m.
