Minot State claimed a pair of one-run wins over Wayne State in NSIC baseball action Thursday at the Chapman Complex.
In the opener, Minot State held off a late Wildcat rally to earn a 3-2 win, then came from behind in the nightcap to claim a 6-5 victory, dropping the Wildcats to 8-12 overall and 6-4 in NSIC action.
Both teams scored runs in the first inning in the opener. Bryce Bisenius singled through the right side to score Andrew Hanson (double) for Wayne State’s first run.
Minot State scored single runs in the fourth and sixth innings, both unearned, to take a 3-1 lead before Wayne State rallied with a run in the seventh as Jake Lorenzini reached on a fielder’s choice and later scored on a Bisenius single to cut the Beaver lead to 3-2. The Wildcats had runners on first and third with two out when Minot State closer Jack Gamba came on to get Travis Miller to pop up to second ending the game.
Wayne State outhit Minot State 7-3 in the loss. Bisenius was 2-for-4 with two RBI while Miller was 2-for-4 with a pair of singles. Hanson doubled while Jake Lemar and Tanner Simons both singled. Starter Aidan Breedlove (1-3) suffered the pitching loss, allowing just three hits in a complete game effort. He fanned five and walked three while giving up three runs, one of them earned.
The second game saw Wayne State control the contest until the Beavers shocked the Wildcats with a five-run eighth to complete the comeback and sweep the Thursday twinbill.
The Wildcats took a 2-0 lead in the first on a Bisenius RBI single to score Hanson. Tanner Simons later scored on a wild pitch.
After Minot State scored in the bottom of the third to trim the lead to 2-1, Wayne State came up with three runs in the top of the fifth to take a 5-1 advantage. David Janes produced a two-run single to score Garrett Graveline and Jackson Petersen, and Janes later scored on a double steal to make it a 5-1 game.
The scored remained that way until the bottom of the eighth, when Minot State struck for five runs on three hits and a pair of walks with the go-ahead run scoring on a wild pitch to give the Beavers a 6-5 lead that they would not relinquish.
Wayne State had seven hits in the second game, led by Bisenius going 2-for-4 with an RBI. Janes added a two-run single while Hanson, Jake Lorenzini, Simons and Petersen each singled.
Starter Aaron Ras worked the first six innings and gave up one run on five hits with six strikeouts and three walks. Reliever Isaac Rubendall worked the next 1 1/3 innings while sophomore reliever Lawson Zenner (1-2) pitched the final 2/3 innings and was charged with the loss, charged with three runs on two hits and one walk.
Wayne State and Minot State will close out the four-game NSIC series in Wayne on Friday with a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. at the Chapman Complex.
