Wayne State won three of four games from University of Mary in a weekend road series in Bismarck, N.D.
On Saturday, Wayne State used a seven-run fifth inning in the opener and 7 2/3 scoreless innings of relief from Keenan Breen and Kyle Kennebeck in the nightcap to post a 14-4 and 7-6 (10 innings) sweep.
In the opener, Wayne State scored four runs in the first and seven more in the fifth to post the 10-run win over the Marauders. The Wildcats had just two hits in the four-run first, but used three walks and two wild pitches to help score four runs.
Wayne State scored two more in the third on a Bryce Bisenius RBI double and sacrifice fly from Kyle Thompson for a 6-0 lead. After Mary scored two in the bottom of the third, the Wildcats scored one in the fourth and seven in the fifth to put the game out of reach. Cody Jenkins’ three-run homer was the big hit for WSC in the fifth along with a two-run double from Aaron Krier and an RBI single by David Janes.
Wayne State had 11 hits in the win, led by Jenkins going 2-for-4 with four RBI that included a three-run homer. Bisenius was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI while Krier was 2-for-4 with a homer, double, three RBI and two runs scored. Bodie Cooper also had two hits with a double and scored three runs.
Bobby St. Pierre (3-2) was the winning pitcher, allowing two runs over six innings on seven hits with six strikeouts. Jordan Mehl worked the final inning and allowed two runs on one hit with a walk and two strikeouts.
In the second game, Wayne State rallied from a 6-3 deficit as the Wildcats used stellar relief pitching from Keenan Breen and Kyle Kennebeck to get the Saturday sweep.
Wayne State took a 3-0 lead in the first thanks to a two-run single by Janes and RBI single from Bisenius. Mary scored two in the second and four in the third for a 6-3 lead, but the Wildcats chipped away at the lead with two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh to even the game at 6-6. Janes and Jake Lemar had run-scoring singles in the sixth while Tanner Simons had a solo homer in the seventh to tie the score at 6-6.
Wayne State won the game in the 10th when Cooper led off with a double and scored on Janes’ sacrifice fly to left field.
Wayne State had 13 hits in the game to just seven for Mary. Lemar finished 3-for-5 with an RBI while Janes was 2-for-4 with four RBI. Simons ended 2-for-5 with a homer and two runs scored while Jenkins was 2-for-5.
Breen and Kennebeck kept the Wildcats in the game after starter Hunter Wienhoff was touched for six runs on five hits in 2 1/3 innings work. Breen pitched the next 4 2/3 innings and gave up just two hits and no runs with three strikeouts and two walks followed by three hitless innings by Kennebeck, who was credited with the win.
On Sunday, Wayne State used a four-run seventh inning in the second game to rally for a 10-7 win and salvage a split after the Marauders won a 2-1 11-inning thriller in the opener.
Aiden Breedlove struck out 10 batters in six innings for the Wildcats, but the Marauders were able to come back in extra innings to get the win.
Wayne State scored its lone run in the second when Aaron Krier singled and scored on a Jackson Petersen double for a 1-0 lead.
Mary tied the score in the fifth inning and sent the contest into extra innings. Marauder starter Isaac Saad held Wayne State to just one hit in the four extra innings and pitched a complete-game win as Mary used a hit batter, walk and RBI single in the bottom of the 11th off reliever Joey Lenihan to pick up the win.
Wayne State had seven hits in the contest. Petersen was 2-for-4 with a double and RBI while Bodie Cooper was 2-for-5 with a pair of singles. Cody Jenkins, David Janes and Krier also singled.
Breedlove worked six solid innings as a starter, striking out 10 with two walks while allowing an unearned run on five hits. Kennebeck pitched two perfect innings of relief with three strikeouts with Lenihan finishing the game, giving up one run on three hits in 2 2/3 innings work with two walks and two strikeouts.
The second game saw the Wildcats rally with four runs in the top of the seventh to win the weekend series.
Cooper and Janes each had RBI singles in the first inning to put Wayne State up 2-0, but Mary scored a run in the first and two in the third to take a 3-2 lead. Wayne State tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the fourth on Krier’s solo homer before the Marauders regained the lead with one run in the bottom of the fifth for a 4-3 lead.
The Wildcats scored three in the top of the sixth to grab a 6-4 lead. Krier had a two-run homer that scored Peyton Barnes, while Jenkins had an RBI single that brought home Tandon Dorn.
Mary came back again and took a 7-6 lead in the bottom of the sixth with three runs, but Wayne State rallied with two out in the seventh. Petersen’s single brought home Barnes to tie the score at 7-7. Kyle Thompson’s single drove home the go-ahead run in Petersen to break the tie, then Jenkins had a two-run single to score Thompson and Dorn to put Wayne State up by three before Tegan Nissen came in to shut the door on the win.
Both teams had 13 hits in the game. Krier was 2-for-4 with a pair of homers and three RBI while Jenkins was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Barnes also had two singles and scored two runs while Dorn was 2-for-4 with three runs scored.
Teague McFadden pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs on 11 hits with seven strikeouts and one walk. Breen pitched 1/3 inning and gave up one hit and earned the win, now 2-0 on the year. Nissen’s scoreless inning of work in the seventh gave him his first save of the season.
Wayne State (10-14, 5-7 NSIC) was scheduled to host Winona State Wednesday in a 1:30 p.m. doubleheader at the Chapman Complex. They play a four-game weekend series this weekend at Minnesota Duluth.
