Wayne State used late-inning rallies to post a doubleheader sweep of Upper Iowa in NSIC baseball action Thursday, winning 7-5 and 7-6 at the Chapman Complex.
In the opener, Aaron Krier’s two-run homer to right field in the bottom of the sixth gave the Wildcats the come-from-behind win, highlighting a three-run sixth inning. Jackson Petersen had an RBI single to score Cody Castro with the first run of the inning, setting up Krier’s heroics with an opposite-field shot to score the go-ahead runs.
Lefthanded reliever Kyle Kennebeck came on in the top of the seventh, getting out of a bases-loaded jam to secure the win for the Wildcats.
Thompson was 2 for 3 with a pair of doubles and two RBI to lead an 11-hit attack. Tanner Simons was 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored. Keenan Breen got the win in relief of starter Taner Ledezma, with Kenneback earning his third save of the year.
In the nightcap, Wayne State once again came from behind at the end, scoring twice in the bottom of the eighth to finish the sweep.
The Wildcats scored two in the first and two in the second followed by another run in the fourth for a 5-3 lead., but Upper Iowa came back with two in the fifth and one in the seventh to take a 6-5 lead going to the eighth.
In the eighth, Krier stroked an RBI single to score pinch-runner Peyton Barnes, then freshman Petersen came through with the game-winning hit, lacing a single to right that scored Tandon Dorn with what proved to be the winning run.
Kenneback earned his second save of the day, coming on with two on and one out in the ninth to earn his fourth save of th eseason.
Krier had three hits, two of them triples, to lead Wayne State’s 10-hit efffort. 3 for 5 with two triples. Bodie Cooper was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored. Breen once again got the win in relief, with Kennebeck getting the save.
Wayne State (20-18, 15-11 NSIC) is on the road this weekend at Northern State for a four-game series with doubleheaders Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 12 p.m.
