The Wayne State baseball team closed the regular season Thursday afternoon with a doubleheader split against Upper Iowa at the Chapman Complex.
The doublheeader, moved to Wayne due to inclement weather in northeast Iowa, saw the Wildcats rally from a 6-0 deficit to win the opener 10-7 before dropping the nightcap, 10-5.
In the opener, Upper Iowa touched Hunter Wienhoff for six runs in the second inning, but the Wildcats’ bats picked it up in the third. Alex Logelin had a two-run single, and Andrew Hanson followed with a two-run triple to cut the deficit to 6-4.
In the sixth, Travis Miller had an RBI single to score Bryce Bisenius, and Logelin followed with his second two-RBI single. He came honme on a single later in the inning as the Wildcats batted around to take a 10-6 lead.
Upper Iowa added another run late in the game, but the Wildcat pitching staff held on to give Wayne State the first-game win.
Cade Hermann got the win in relief, while Andrew Staebell earned his fourth save. Logelin was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and four RBI’s. Hanson added two RBI’s as well.
In the nightcap, Wayne State scored early on an error, but the Peacocks came back with a run in the second, two runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth to take a 6-1 lead. Wayne State was able to get within two runs at 7-5, but the Peacocks added three in the eighth to put the game out of reach.
Ryan Obrecht suffered his first loss of the year in eight decisions. Andrew Hanson and Brendan Madsen both went 2-for-4 in the contest.
Wayne State (32-16, 23-12 NSIC) will compete in the NSIC Tournament at St. Cloud, Minn., starting Wednesday. The Wildcats are the fifth seed and will face Minot State in a 12:30 p.m. game in the first round of the eight-team, double-elimination tournament that runs through Saturday, May 11.
