Wayne State capitalized on Northern State errors to extend their win streak to 10 games with a 3-2 win over the Wolves Monday at the Chapman Complex.
Northern State pitcher Cody Curfman puzzled Wayne State to start the contest. The righty dealt an impressive four innings, putting down the first 13 batters he came up against.
The Wolves grabbed a solo shot in the bottom of the second, getting the better of an otherwise solid outing from Lawson Zenner. The junior pitched five innings of work, grabbing five strikeouts while only giving up two hits, one of them being the four-baser.
The game remained in a standstill until the top of the sixth, when the Wildcats generated some offense. With runners on the corner, an Alex Logelin stolen base forced the Northern State catcher into a throwing error that brought Madsen around from first to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead.
Wayne State added to their lead an inning later after Andrew Staebell replaced Zenner and shut down the side in the bottom of the sixth. A two-out single from Travis Miller brought up Peyton Barnes, who singled to left. The outfielder bobbled the ball and Miller came all the way around to add to the lead.
Northern State responded in the bottom of the inning, grabbing their second solo shot of the day. Staebell rallied by forcing a fly out before striking out the Wolves batter to end the inning with the lead still intact.
Cade Herrmann and Charles Hasty both pitched an inning of scoreless relief, helping the Wildcats to their fourth straight series sweep after dropping their first three conference games of the season to Minnesota Crookston.
Andrew Hanson led the Wildcats with two hits on the day, with all three Wildcat runs coming off Wolves' errors.
The Wildcats (19-7, 10-3 NSIC) travel to St. Cloud State to take on the Huskies in midweek action, with first pitch of the doubleheader slated for 1 p.m. on Wednesday.
