WSC baseball ranked fourth in conference
The Wildcats baseball team welcome Jess Gibson into the dugout during Thurdsay’s game against Upper Iowa University. Gibson is part of the Team Impact organization that pairs children with disabilities or who face chronic or life-threatening illnesses with a college athletic team. Gibson chose to be part of WSC’s baseball team, where he participated in a signing ceremony on March 27. Gibson was presented with a black-and-gold Wildcat jersey, number three, and has become an established player, attending both practices and games.
April 26, 2017
Wayne State College has gotten hot at the right time of the year, taking five of its last six games against NSIC foes to move to fourth place in conference play.
“We said coming into the year we wanted to at least be in third place in conference,” Head Coach Alex Koch said. “We’re in fourth place right now and with a few games left, we have a good chance of reaching our goal.”
WSC took both games from Upper Iowa last Thursday. The ’Cats beat the Peacocks 7-5 and 7-6.
With the opening game tied up at five, Aaron Krier blasted a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to boost the ’Cats to victory.
Both teams racked up 11 hits in the contest. Reliever Keenan Breen was awarded the win to improve his record to 4-0 on the season.
“We’re playing good ball right now, but we’re not quite to where we want to be,” Koch said.
The second game of Thursday night duplicated the late-inning drama from earlier in the day, with Krier having just as much of an impact.
The eighth inning was pivotal, as the ’Cats were down by one before a Krier RBI single followed by a Keenan Breen single that scored Tandon Dorn to seal the win.
Krier went 3 for 5 at the plate with two triples to help lead the WSC offense. Bodie Cooper went 2 for 3 at the plate and tacked on a double as well.
WSC stormed Aberdeen, S.D., this weekend, taking three of four crucial conference games from Northern State.
The Wolves took the first game 9-1, but strong pitching helped WSC claim the next three.
WSC battled back from a late-inning deficit Saturday night to claim a 7-5 win before freshman Aiden Breedlove threw a four-hit shutout in the Saturday morning game for a 1-0 win.
“Aiden Breedlove pitched extremely well. He has had a great start to his young career here,” Koch said.
Breedlove improved his record to 4-3 on the season. The shutout is the first of the year for WSC.
Teague McFadden put in six innings of work during the Sunday night game, allowing six hits and three runs.
The strong performance helped the ’Cats edge out NSU 5-4 to wrap up the series.
“Teague McFadden pitched well all weekend,” Koch said.
The wins moved WSC’s overall record to 24-19 and 19-12 in league play.
“We’re getting everybody comfortable and our rotations and lineups are finally getting set into place for the final stretch and conference tournament,” Koch said.
WSC’s next games will be on the road in a doubleheader against NSIC foe Concordia-St. Paul at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.
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