After securing at-most two wins in the series, the Wayne State College baseball team wanted to send the seniors class off on a high-note and continue to build momentum into the postseason tournament.
Back at the Pete Chapman Baseball Complex, WSC played one final game against Winona State University on May 3.
Wayne State College held off a late rally to win 8-6 to close out their regular season at 29-20 (25-15 NSIC). Winona State fell to 22-28 (18-22 NSIC). The Wildcats swept the series also winning 8-0 and 8-4 on Friday.
Scoring began with Wayne State College opening with four runs in the bottom of the second inning. Junior Braden Cannon reached safely on a fielding error allowing senior Taylor Gill to score; junior Casey Prychak followed with a two-RBI single driving in sophomore Brayden Chaney and senior Kaden Young before redshirt junior Cam Madsen added a RBI base hit scoring Cannon.
WSC tacked on two more runs in the third. Gill recorded a solo homerun while Young drove in Chaney.
Following a scoreless fourth, Winona State posted a three-run top of the fifth to pull within 6-3.
Wayne State College plated a single run in the bottom of the sixth to go up 7-3. Cannon used a RBI base hit bringing in Young.
The visiting Warriors then scored three additional run in the top of the seventh to trail 7-6.
The Wildcats tallied an insurance run during the home half of the eighth to close out scoring. Prychak posted a sac-fly RBI allowing Young to cross the plate.
Final in nine innings favored Wayne State College winning 8-6 and outhitting the Warriors, 10-8. Winona State committed five errors compared to one by the host Wildcats.
Branden Cannon singled three times, drove in two runs and scored; Kaden Young singled, doubled, drove in a run and scored three times; Cam Madsen singled twice and drove in a run as Taylor Gill recorded a solo homerun and scored twice.
Casey Prychak singled and drove in three runs; senior Quinn McCafferty singled as Brayden Chaney scored twice.
Senior Eli Crnkovich (25 pitches) picked up the win in two innings of scoreless relief allowing one hit while striking out three batters and walking one. Cannon (15) earned his 10th save of the season in the final inning and a third recording two groundouts and two flyouts.
Freshman Carson Obrecht (74) started the opening four innings allowing three earned runs off three hits while striking out three batters and walking four. Senior KThe Wayne State College baseball team earned the number three seed for the upcoming NSIC Baseball Tournament. WSC, won the tie breaker over Sioux Falls with 2-0 record against USF, and will face #6 Minnesota Duluth on Wednesday, May 7 at 6 p.m. in the opening round at Ronken Field in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Earlier this season in Wayne, the Wildcats went 3-1 against the Bulldogs.
