Wayne State saw its 10-game winning streak end Wednesday, but bounced back behind the pitching of two freshmen to salvage a split at No. 6-ranked St. Cloud State in St. Cloud, Minn.
Freshmen pitchers Ryan Obrecht and Andrew Staebell held St. Cloud State to five hits and one run to lead Wayne State to a 4-1 win after the Huskies opened the doubleheader with a 7-4 win, ending the Wildcats’ 10-game winning streak.
Obrecht was spotless over five innings, allowing no hits over the first five innings and pitching seven scoreless innings before Staebell came on in relief.
Wayne State broke a scoreless tie in the second inning when Garrett Graveline singled home Travis Miller and Peyton Barnes followed on a CJ Neumann single to give the Wildcats a 2-0 advantage.
Wayne State extended the lead to 3-0 in the sixth on a fielder’s choice that scored Alex Logelin, and Logelin scored again in the eighth when he came home on a bases-loaded walk.
Obrecht gave up a pair of doubles in the eighth to lose the shutout, but Staebell got the final four outs to get the save and give Wayne State the split.
Logeling went 2-for-5 to lead an eight-hit attack for Wayne State. Kyle Thompson also had two hits. Obrecht struck out four and allowed four hits and a walk in 7 2/3 innings.
In the opener, the Huskies used the long ball to end Wayne State’s winning streak.
Trailing 5-0 in the fifth, Wayne State scored when Miller tripled and came home on a sacrifice fly by Jake Lamar to make it 5-1.
St. Cloud hit a two-run homer in the fifth to lead 7-1, but Wayne State used five consecutive singles in the sixth to make it interesting. RBI singles by Bryce Bisenius, Andrew Hanson and Miller got Wayne State within three before the Huskies shut the door on the Wayne State comeback.
Hanson and Miller each had two hits to lead Wayne State’s seven-hit effort. Aaron Ras took the loss on the mound with five runs on five hits in four innings of work.
Wayne State (20-8, 11-4 NSIC) is back on the road this weekend with a three-game stand at Southwest Minnesota State. They will play a Saturday doubleheader at 12 p.m. and finish with a 12 p.m. game Sunday in Marshall, Minn.
