Wayne State held off late rallies by Sioux Falls in both games to finish the regular season on a great note, sweeping the Cougar 4-3 and 11-10 Saturday afternoon in Northern Sun Conference baseball played at Sioux Falls Stadium.
In the opener, the Wildcats held off a furious USF rally in the seventh to come away with the win.
Wayne State took a 3-0 lead in the third as Cody Jenkins delivered a two-run single that scored Aaron Krier and Tanner Simons. Jenkins later scored on a Bryce Bisenius single to left to give the Wildcats the three-run edge.
Sioux Falls scored in the fourth to make it a 3-1 game, but the Wildcats got a key insurance run in the seventh with Jackson Peterson walked and scored on a Jenkins single to make it 4-1.
The hosts staged a furious rally in the bottom of the inning, scoring two runs on four hits off starter Bobby St. Pierre and putting the tying run on second and game-winning run on first with two outs. St. Pierre got out of trouble, though, getting a fielder's choice for the final out as the Wildcats held on for the win.
Jenkins finished 2-for-3 with three RBI to lead the way while Bisenius was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Krier, Simons, Kyle Thompson, Tandon Dorn and Petersen each singled. St. Pierre went the distance, allowing three runs on 10 hits with four strikeouts and two walks.
The second game was much like the first as the Wildcats built a lead before holding off the Cougars to take three of four in their final series of the regular season.
Wayne State trailed 6-5 in the fifth, but got five runs in the sixth to take the lead for goo. Simons belted a three-run homer for the key hit in the inning, while Aaron Krier added a two-run double.
Chris May’s sacrifice fly in the seventh scored Bodie Cooper with what proved to be the game-winning run for the Wildcats.
Sioux Falls got a pair of runs in the seventh to get within one at 11-10. Keenan Breen pitched a scoreless eighth and closer Kyle Kennebeck got out of a two-on, one-out jam in the ninth for his ninth save of the season, tying him for most saves in a season with Curtis Bussard (2014) and Dustin Nilius (2005).
May went 2-for-4 with a double and four RBI and Cooper was 2-for-4 with three runs scored. Mitchell Gulliksoin got the win as one of eight Wildcat pitchers in the game, allowing two runs on three walks in two-thirds of an inning.
Wayne State (28-22, 23-15 NSIC) will be the No. 4 seed for the NSIC Baseball Tournament in St. Cloud, Minn., and will face fifth-seed Minot State in the first round on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. at Putz Field. Minot State beat Wayne State 3-1 in a four-game series played in Wayne March 18-19.
