Wayne State’s home field has become its home away from home after sweeping a three-game series from Southwest Minnesota State in games moved from Marshall, Minn. to the Chapman Complex.
On Saturday, Brendan Madsen hit his first home run of the season and was 2-for-3 with three RBI to lead Wayne State in a 6-2 win in the first game of a scheduled doubleheader.
Wayne State opened the scoring in the third with Madsen delivering an RBI double that scored Jake Lorenzini, followed by a sacrifice fly from Kyle Thompson for a 2-0 lead.
The Wildcats went in front 4-0 in the top of the sixth on a Bryce Bisenius RBI single that scored Thompson, while Andrew Hanson reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on a passed ball.
Southwest hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to cut the Wildcat advantage to 4-2, but Wayne State closed out the scoring in the top of the seventh with a two-run homer from Madsen to finish off the win.
Madsen led Wayne State’s seven-hit attack, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored. Thompson ended 2-for-3 with a double while Bisenius, Hanson and Lorenzini each singled, with Lorenzini scoring twice. Aidan Breedlove improved to 6-2 on the year with 5 2/3 innings of work, allowing just two runs on four hits with five strikeouts and two walks. Andrew Staebell and Lawson Zenner both worked in relief.
The second game of the doubleheader was suspended with two outs in the bottom of the ninth due to lightning and rain, but finished Sunday with Wayne State posting a 10-2 win. They finished the sweep with a 12-2 win Sunday afternoon.
Wayne State had four players hit home runs in the suspended game, and Hunter Wienhoff had a shutout heading into the ninth inning before two Wildcat errors and two walks allowed SMSU to avoid the shutout.
Jake Lorenzini finished 3-for-4 with a homer and three runs scored to pace Wayne state at the plate. Colin Chick went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI while Kyle Thompson and Logelin also homered.
In the finale, the Wildcats took a 9-0 lead through 2 1/2 innings and had no problems finishing off the three-game sweep of the Mustangs.
Bisenius got Wayne State off to a quick start with a three-run homer in the first inning. He added an RBI single in the second that scored Brendan Madsen for a 4-0 Wildcat advantage.
A five-run third inning for the Wildcats made the score 9-0 as Thompson had a two-run double along with an RBI triple from Chick and a run-scoring double by Madsen.
After Southwest scored two runs in the bottom of the third to make the score 9-2, Wayne State scored single runs in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings to finish off the win. Peyton Barnes tripled and scored on a Jake Lemar sacrifice fly in the fourth. Logelin singled in the fifth and scored on a Bisenius sacrifice fly and in the seventh Hanson had an RBI single that scored Thompson.
Bisenius and Barnes led Wayne State’s 15-hit attack as Bisenius was 3-for-4 with five RBI while Barnes ended 3-for-5 with a triple and two runs scored. Madsen, Thompson and Chick each added two hits.
Cade Herrmann worked five strong innings to earn the win, allowing four hits and two runs. Ryan Petersen and Josh Renken each pitched one inning of scoreless relief.
The Wildcats (23-8, 14-4 NSIC) are scheduled to play a mid-week doubleheader at Minot State Wednesday, starting at 1:30 p.m. They host Sioux Falls in a three-game weekend series Saturday and Sunday starting at 12 p.m. both days.
