It was a wild day on the baseball diamond at the Chapman Complex on Saturday, but Wayne State’s late rallies came up short as visiting Minnesota Crookston swept a pair in NSIC action.
In the opener, Wayne State tried to come back from a 9-1 deficit, but left the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh as the Golden Eagles hung on for a 9-8 win.
Wayne State trailed 9-1 before sparking their rally. They scored a run in the fifth, then added six in the sixth to get within a run. The big inning included seven hits, including an RBI double by Alex Kreft and run-scoring singles by Taner Ledezma, Brandon Fowler, Cody Jenkins and Albert Johnson.
Wayne State loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the seventh, but the Golden Eagles got out of the bases-loaded jam unscathed and hung on for the win.
Fowler was 3-for-4 with two runs scored to lead a 17-hit Wildcat effort. Jenkins, Curtis Bussard, Tanner Simons, Bodie Cooper and Albert Johnson each had two hits. Matthew Wood took the loss on the mound.
As crazy as the first game ended, the second one was even more exciting, as Wayne State rallied from a 12-4 deficit to force extra frames before losing in 10 innings, 17-13.
The Wildcats scored seven runs in the seventh to get within a run at 12-11, highlighted by Cooper’s grand slam home run and a two-run triple by Chris May.
Crookston got a run in the eighth, but the Wildcats sent the game to extra innings with two in the bottom of the ninth, using a passed ball that brought home Fowler to tie the score at 13-13. Crookston scored four in the top of the 10th and held on for the win.
Nate Ackerman hit two home runs and went 3-for-5 with three RBI’s and three runs scored to lead Wayne State’s 17-hit attack. Bussard and Jenkins both went 3-for-6 and Cooper, Johnson and May each had two hits. Bussard took the loss in relief.
Wayne State (3-16, 0-4 NSIC) and Minnesota Crookston will finish their series with a 12 p.m. doubleheader Sunday at the Chapman Complex.
