OMAHA — Despite two homers and a 4-for-5 day from senior third baseman Kyle Thompson, Wayne State could not overcome an early 4-0 deficit as Minnesota Crookston finished a weekend sweep with an 8-7 win Monday at Omaha Westside High School.
Minnesota Crookston scored one run in the first and three in the second for a 4-0 advantage, before the Wildats responded with a three-run third, highlighted by an RBI double by Alex Logelin and Thompson’s first home run of the day, a two-run shot to center.
Crookston added two more in the fourth to extend the lead to 6-3, but the Wildcats scored two in the bottom of the inning as Colin Chick doubled and scored on a Jake Lorenzini double, followed by an RBI single by Brendan Madsen that scored Lorenzini.
Crookston added two more in the seventh to take an 8-5 advantage. Wayne State got a run in the eighth on a Jake Lemar single that scored Bryce Bisenius, and Thompson hit a solo shot in the ninth, but that was as close as the Wildcats would get as the Golden Eagles finished the three-game sweep.
Thompson led a 12-hit attack with four hits, including two homers and three RBI. Chick was 2-for-4 with a double and Lorenzini and Logelin both had doubles. Aaron Ras took the pitching loss, allowing four runs in two innings of work.
The Wildcats (9-7, 0-3 NSIC) are scheduled to host Bemidji State in a Northern Sun Conference doubleheader on Thursday, with a location and time yet to be announced because of field availability and wet field conditions in Wayne.
