The Wayne State baseball team split with Upper Iowa on Tuesday and with Bemidji State on Sunday.

Wayne State freshman starter Aaron Ras fired five and two-thirds innings of no-hit ball to lead the Wildcats in a 4-2 win over Upper Iowa Tuesday evening in the opening game of a NSIC baseball doubleheader moved from Fayette, Iowa to Millard North High School in Omaha due to weather. The second game saw the Peacocks salvage a split with a 6-3 win.

In the opener, Ras took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. But after Upper Iowa scored two unearned runs on a Wildcat error and the lone hit allowed by Ras, the Wildcats rallied with two runs on two outs in the top of the seventh to post a 4-2 win.

Sophomore Jackson Petersen said they knew that Upper Iowa didn’t have any arms to out-power the Wildcats.

“Our plan was to put the ball in play and make things happen,” said Petersen.

WSC scored single runs in the first and sixth innings for a 2-0 advantage. In the first, sophomore Peyton Barnes led the game off with a single and scored on an RBI single from junior Bryce Bisnenius. The Wildcat run in the sixth came when senior David Janes reached on a fielder’s choice and later scored on a sacrifice fly from junior Garrett Graveline.

Upper Iowa then used a walk and their lone hit off Ras, a single, to put two runners on with two out. The Peacocks tied the score at 2-2 when Janes misplaced a ball.

The Wildcats bounced back in the top of the seventh with a two-out rally. senior Tanner Simmons was hit by a pitch and stole second following a Bisenius strike out with two outs.

Junior Travis Miller produced an RBI double down the left field line to put the ‘Cats in front 3-2 followed by a Janes RBI single that scored Miller for a 4-2 Wildcat advantage.

Sophomore reliever Lawson Zenner then came on in the seventh inning and struck out two batters while allowing a single as WSC held on for the 4-2 win.

WSC held a 10-2 edge in hits over the Peacocks. Miller finished 2 for 4 with a double and RBI while Petersen was 2 for 4. Freshman Andrew Hanson doubled while Barnes, Simons, Bisenius, Janes and Graveline each singled.

The second game saw three WSC errors lead to four unearned runs by Upper Iowa as the Peacocks salvaged a split with a 6-3 win.

“We won the first game, so that brings confidence to the team for the next game but they ended up taking game two, not many adjustments were made since we won,” said Petersen.

With UIU leading 2-0 after two innings, WSC got on the board in the third as Petersen singled up the middle and later scoring on a single from junior Jake Lorenzini to trim the Peacock lead to 2-1.

The Peacocks scored three unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth for a 5-1 lead.

WSC came back with two runs in the top of the sixth to make the score 5-3. Lorenzini walked and scored on a Simons RBI triple to right center. Simons then scored on a Bisenius sacrifice fly to right field for the second run.

Upper Iowa made use of two Wildcat errors and two hits to score an unearned run in the sixth to close out the scoring for a 6-3 final.

“I feel like we hit the ball much better in the first game than in the second and we played better defense in the first game as well,” said Petersen.

The ’Cats turned around to face Bemidji State, winning the first game 9-8 and falling in the second one 15-5.

Wayne State freshman Alex Logelin hit a three-run homer in the top of the seventh to give the Wildcats a 9-8 win at Bemidji State in the opener.

The host Beavers stormed back in the second game to take a 15-5 win despite Hanson going 6 for 8 on the day with two homers, a triple and eight RBI.

The opener saw Logelin come through with a clutch home run to lead the Wildcats in a 9-8 win over the Beavers.

“We knew that they were short staff pitching and we also knew that they were going to throw a slow lefty,” said Petersen. “We took batting practice where our coach threw really slow and took advantage of their bullpen when the time came.”

The ‘Cats scored three in the first thanks to an RBI triple from Logelin and a two-run single by Hanson.

BSU scored the next seven runs to take a 7-3 lead, but WSC got back into the game with a three-run top of the fifth to get within one at 7-6. Hanson’s three-run homer was the key hit in the inning.

After the Beavers added one run in the sixth for an 8-6 lead, WSC rallied in the seventh at Bisenius and Miller each singled with Logelin homering over the left field fence with one outgiving WSC the 9-8 win.

WSC had 15 hits in the win, led by Hanson going 3 for 4 with a homer, triple and five RBI. Logelin was just as impressive at 2 for 4 with a homer, triple and four RBIs. Bisenius had four singles, going 4 for 4, while Miller finished 2 for 4 with two runs scored.

Reliever sophomore Isaac Rubendall earned the pitching win with two innings of work, allowing one run on three hits after replacing starter sophomore Hunter Wienhoff. Zenner worked the final inning and allowed one hit and one walk with two strikeouts to record his third save of the season.

The second game saw Bemidji State hit four home runs to highlight a 15-hit attack as the Beavers salvaged a split with a 15-5 win.

“We just know at this point in our season it’s make or break if we want to make the conference tournament so we’re playing with added encouragement to do better and we did,” said Petersen.

WSC struck first with three runs in the second for a 3-0 lead. Hanson hit a two-run homer, with redshirt freshman Colin Chick adding an RBI single for the ‘Cats.

BSU came back with two in the second and took the lead for good with a six-run third inning. The Beavers then scored two more runs in the fourth and fifth innings, one in the sixth and two more in the seventh to produce 15 runs on 15 hits in the seven-inning win.

Wayne State finished the game with 11 hits and also left 10 runners on base. Hanson finished 3 for 4 with a homer and three RBI. Logelin also went 3 for 4 in the loss while Miller was 2 for 4.

Starter junior Charles Hasty suffered the pitching loss, charged with eight runs on six hits in two and two thirds innings of work. Seniors Spencer Johnson, Brady Johnson, and Adam Poldberg each worked in relief for the Wildcats.

The Wildcats then turned around the next day to face Bemidji again.

Miller went a combined 4 for 9 with two homers and five RBIs to lift Wayne State College baseball for the sweep Monday afternoon. Scores of the games were 6-5 and 12-8.

The opener saw the Wildcats overcome a four-run deficit in the first inning while using a two-out rally in the top of the seventh to score two runs for a 6-5 win.

BSU roughed up Wildcat starter Breedlove for four runs on five hits in the first inning to take an early 4-0 lead.

Breedlove then held the Beavers to just two hits over the next five innings while WSC started their comeback in the third inning with three runs.

Logelin’s two-run double scored Simmons Bisenius with Logelin later scoring on an RBI double from junior CJ Neumann to make the score 4-3.

WSC tied the contest in the fifth when Chick singled and scored on a Simons sacrifice fly.

The score remained 4-4 until the seventh inning. With two outs and no runners on base, WSC used back-to-back doubles from Simons and Bisenius to take a 5-4 lead, then Miller’s RBI single brought home pinch runner Petersen for a 6-4 Wildcat advantage.

Zenner came on in the seventh and, despite allowing three singles and one run, the right hander struck out the side in between to pick up his fourth save of the season in a 6-5 win.

The second game saw Ras fire six shutout innings while Miller belted a pair of two-run homers to help the Wildcats complete the sweep with a 12-8 win over the Beavers.

WSC used two-run blasts from Miller in the first and third innings, both scoring Bisenius after singles, to give the Wildcats a 4-0 lead after three innings.

A fifth inning leadoff homer from Simons in the fifth put the ’Cats in front 5-0.

In the sixth inning, WSC added two runs as Logelin walked and scored on a Barnes fielder’s choice for the first run while Lorenzini scored on a Simons sacrifice fly to right field for a 7-0 WSC lead.

WSC took an 8-0 lead in the seventh when Hanson singled and scored when Graveline reached on a Bemidji State error. The Wildcats produced four more runs in the eighth, highlighted by Logelin’s two-run double and an RBI double from Lorenzini.

Bemidji State avoided the shutout in the final two innings thanks to a combined six Wildcat errors and nine walks. The Beavers came up with four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and another four in the ninth.

Miller paced Wayne State’s 15-hit attack with a pair of two-run homers, going 2 for 5 with four RBI and three runs scored. Barnes finished 3 for 6 while Simons was 2 for 4 with a homer, two RBIs and two runs scored. Bisenius, Hanson and Lorenzini each chipped in two hits in the win.

The Wildcats will face Concordia-St. Paul in Wayne today in 1:30 and 3:30 contests.