Wayne State split a four-game weekend baseball series Friday and Saturday at Minnesota Duluth, with both teams getting a pair of wins in the two-day set.
On Friday, Wayne State bounced back from an extra-inning heartbreaker to get a win and split the first day. The Bulldogs won the opener 4-3 in 10 innings before the Wildcats came back for a 5-1 win in the nightcap.
In the first game, Wayne State got out to a 2-0 lead with runs in the second and third innings. Peyton Barnes’ sacrifice fly to cente scored David Janes in the second, while Aaron Krier led off the third with a solo homer to give the Wildcats the two-run edge.
Duluth came back with two in the bottom of the third to tie the game and took the lead with a run in the fourth, but the Wildcats evened the game in the seventh when Krier drew a two-out walk and scored on Tanner Simons’ RBI double down the left field line. Cody Jenkins singled to right, but Simons was thrown out at home to preserve the tie and send the game to extra innings.
In the 10th, Duluth’s Tyler Wojciechowski tripled off reliever Joey Lenihan, and a suicide squeeze bunt brought home pinch-runner Eric Yachinich to give the Bulldogs the win.
Jackson Peterson led an 11-hit attack with two hits, including a double. Jenkins and Tandon Dorn each added two singles. Bobby St. Pierre worked nine innings and got a no-decision, striking out seven and allowing eight hits and two walks. Lenihan was the tough-luck loser in relief.
In the second game, Hunter Wienhoff threw a complete-game five-hitter to give the Wildcats the split.
Simons doubled and scored on a Jenkins sacrifice fly in the first to get the Wildcats on the board. Kyle Thompson and Janes came through with RBI singles in the third, and Simons added a two-run double in the fourth to give the Wildcats the lead for good.
Simons led the nine-hit effort with a 3-for-4 game, including two doubles, two RBI’s and two runs scored. Thompson was 2-for-3 with a double and Janes extended his hitting streak to 14 games. Wienhoff struck out three and scattered five hits and three walks in the win.
On Saturday, the Wildcats won the opener 3-2, but the Bulldogs came back to win the finale 7-2 and salvage the weekend split.
In the first game, Simons hit a three-run homer in the top of the sixth to help the Wildcats overcome a 2-0 deficit. Simons’ blast came after Tandon Dorn and Krier both singled to open the sixth inning.
That was enough for the tandem of starter Aiden Breedlove and reliever Kyle Kennebeck, who combined to limit the Bulldogs to four hits. Bodie Cooper was 2-for-3 to lead a six-hit attack.
In the nightcap, Duluth limited the Wildcats to just three hits. Jenkins homered in the first and Janes extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a double in the second, but the Wildcats would manage just one hit in the final seven innings.
Wayne State (13-17, 8-10 NSIC) plays Southwest Minnesota State Wednesday afternoon in an NSIC doubleheader starting at 1:30 p.m. in Marshall, Minn.
