Wayne State College overcame slow starts in both games to take a key doubleheader from Sioux Falls at the Chapman Complex Saturday, winning 9-5 and 12-5.
In the opener, the Wildcats used a seven-run second inning to take down the Cougars, taking advantage of five hits and two Cougar errors to score six unearned runs. Key hits in the inning were a Bryce Bisenius RBI triple, an Alex Logelin RBI double and a run-scoring single from Garrett Graveline.
The Wildcats took an 8-1 lead in the fifth on a Peyton Barnes RBI single before Sioux Falls came back to make it interesting, scoring four in the sixth to cut the deficit to 8-5. Andrew Hanson’s RBI double in the bottom of the inning helped put the game out of reach as the Wildcats took the opener.
Logelin went 3-for-4 with two doubles to lead Wayne State’s 11-hit attack. Barnes finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored while Bisenius tripled with an RBI and Hanson added an RBI double.
Freshman lefthander Aaron Ras improved to 5-1 with the win despite struggling with his control. The Bancroft-Rosalie graduate had 57 balls and 56 strikes for his 103 pitches in the game, allowing four runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and five walks. Sophomore reliever Lawson Zenner came in during the sixth in place of senior reliever Spencer Johnson and shut the door on the Cougars for his fifth save of the season.
In the second game, the visitors scored five in the first inning on five hits off starter Hunter Wienhoff, but Wienhoff settled down after that and allowed just two hits the rest of the way.
The Wildcats’ rally started in the third when Tanner Simons brought home a run with a sacrifice fly and Bisenius doubled in another run to make it 5-2.
Wayne State tied the score in the fourth with three runs, fueled by a two-run single from Bisenius, then took the lead for good with two more in the fifth. Hanson was hit by a pitch and scored on a Jake Lorenzini groundout, and Logelin doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Graveline.
The Wildcats put the game out of reach in the seventh inning with five insurance runs. Travis Miller extended his season-high hit streak to 13 games with an RBI triple, Bisenius added a two-run single and Barnes chipped in with an RBI single.
Wayne State had 13 hits in the win, led by Bisenius going 4-for-4 with a double and five RBI. Jackson Petersen finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Logelin was 2-for-4 with two runs scored while Simons went 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Wienhoff improved to 4-3 on the year with the complete-game win, working all nine innings and allowing five runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and three walks.
The Wildcats (17-21, 15-13 NSIC) and Cougars close out the four-game series on Sunday in a 12 p.m. doubleheader at the Chapman Complex.
