Even though the Wayne State College baseball has gone 2-5 since March 4. They ended spring break with a 7-5 win over Winona State.

WSC dropped a four-game series to Missouri S&T on March 4 and 5 before taking two of its next three games, in an NSIC conference tournament that was held at the new Minnesota Vikings football stadium, U.S. Bank Stadium, in Minneapolis.

The ’Cats started the season 2-1 after getting the better of Newman University in the three-game series, but have struggled to get stops when they need them, Head Coach Alex Koch said.

“Our hitting is good enough to carry us, we just need to more consistent getting stops,” Koch said.

Highlighting WSC’s offensive prowess has been senior catcher Bodie Cooper. Last Thursday against Minot State, Cooper led the team to a win by going 3-5 at the plate, knocking in a three-run homer while having a total of four RBIs as the team went on to put nine runs on the board.

Cooper was selected by the NSIC as a player to watch during the preseason.

Over its last three games, WSC has batted in 19 runs, giving its starting pitchers plenty of support at the plate.

The ‘Cats pitching has been better of late, surrendering only 12 runs over the last three games.

“Our pitching has been good the last few games; they’ve really picked it up,” Koch said. “We’ve got a couple of freshmen, such as Adrian Breadlove, who have really pitched well and have worked themselves into the rotation.”

The confidence in the pitching staff is a good sign for ’Cats fans, as the mound was a place where last year’s squad struggled.
WSC used six different pitchers in its first game against Newman, in an attempt to get a better evaluation of its pitching staff.

“We’ve got our rotation pretty much set now and we’re ready for conference,” Koch said.

WSC is scheduled to begin regular season NSIC play, as the team hosts Minot State in a four-game series this Saturday and Sunday, with doubleheaders starting at noon each day.

“We feel confident going into conference. We’ve already beaten Minot State once so we know what we need to do to win,” Koch said.