The Wayne State baseball team traveled during spring break to Tucson, Arizona and competed in four games over a three-day period. After losing the first game to Concordia-St. Paul, the Wildcats turned it around and win the next three games they played against Mount Marty College (S.D.) and Dakota Wesleyan.

“Game one was not a pretty game, but it was a wake-up call,” sophomore outfielder Alex Logelin said. “I think we came back to the park the next day with a bad taste in our mouth and that helped us go on to win the next three games. Our non-conference schedule was very good for us to gain experience, and taught us where we need to improve.”

Both teams came out swinging in the first inning as the Golden Bears scored two runs and then the Wildcats answered with two runs of their own from the help of senior infielder Kyle Thompson with an RBI single which scored Logelin. The last run for the Wildcats in the first came from a groundout from senior outfielder Travis Miller as he brought in junior outfielder Brendan Madsen.

The Wildcats weren’t finished when they scored four more runs in the second inning to make the lead 6-2. Thanks in large part to an RBI double from junior infielder Bryce Bisenius which brought in Madsen and Miller, who both had singles. The Golden Bears finally scored in the third inning, but only managed to bring in one run. Junior infielder Peyton Barnes and junior catcher Jake Lemar hit back-to-back RBI doubles while Logelin hit an RBI double later in the inning to make the score 9-3 going into the fourth.

“Alex Logelin has been on fire the last couple games and he has been a key player to our offense,” sophomore infielder Andrew Hanson said.

The Golden Bears offense caught fire and went off for 18 straight runs over three innings. CSP scored five in the fourth inning, three in the fifth and then erupted for a 10-run sixth inning to finally take a 21-9 lead going in the seventh inning.

The final score of the game was 23-15 in favor of CSP, dropping WSC to 6-4 on the year while Concordia-St-Paul improved to 5-0.

“Starting the season off hot is always a good thing but non-conference games don’t help towards conference standings games,” Hanson said.

WSC finished with 16 hits in the game compared to the Golden Bears, who had 25 hits. Logelin finished four for five with three doubles and two RBIs as well as three runs scored. Thompson went two for six and had a double and three RBIs and then Barnes went two for four with a triple and a double and two runs scored.

Junior right-handed pitcher Mitch Gullison suffered the pitching loss in the game, and was charged with three runs on three hits in two thirds of an inning.

The following day, WSC was on the field getting ready to play Dakota Wesleyan at the Tucson Invitational games.

Freshman Ryan Obrecht threw an impressive game, a one-run ballgame for six innings and recorded eight strikeouts. He led the Wildcat’s to an 11-1 victory in seven innings last Wednesday evening down in Arizona.

“If we continue to play how we are and competing on the mound and defensively, we should win a lot of ball games,” Logelin said.

WSC kept the bats alive in the next game, scoring two runs in the first two innings.

The game was pretty much a pitching show until the fourth when Dakota Wesleyan scored its only run of the game trimming the score to 2-1 in the top of the fourth. The ‘Cats finally put the game out of reach with a five run fourth and a four run fifth to make the score 11-1.

Obrecht tossed eight strikeouts in the game with only one walk. The Millard North native gave up six hits but only allowed one run and earned his first collegiate win.

“Ryan Obrecht was very good in his first career start, I think he will be very important throughout conference play,” Logelin said.

WSC finally ended their three-day weekend with two games against Mount Marty. The Wildcats were 7-4 and looking to win the next two games to get them going on a winning streak.

The Wildcats swept Mount Marty in a non-conference game and improved to 9-4 with a 13-1 victory as well as a 6-2 victory.

In the first game, WSC scored two runs in the first inning from Bisenius and Thompson who both had singles. Later, the ‘Cats scored on a Miller double and another Thompson single.

“We have started the season off very strong, and we are a young team and were learning from our mistakes,” Logelin said.

In the bottom of the fifth, Mount Marty scored a run, but then the ‘Cats ended the game with two more runs in the sixth.

Junior Aidan Breedlove pitched five innings and improved to 3-1 on the season so far. Breedlove threw three strikeouts and only gave up one run on five hits. Sophomore Aaron Ras pitched one inning as well as freshman Cade Hermann, who worked one inning recording three strikeouts while Ras struck out two.

The ‘Cats won the hitting battle in the game with 15 hits. Thompson led the way going 3 for 5 with a triple and two RBIs.

In the last game of the tournament WSC swept Mount Marty and won 6-2 improving to 9-4 on the season.

“Ending the Arizona trip on a strong note really benefits us because conference play is around the corner and it’s always good to be on a winning streak to start conference games,” Hanson said.

Two walks and a two-run single by Barnes scored two runs to close out the inning and the finally the score at 6-2.

“We just need to work on our defense a little bit more and if we continue to take quality hacks in the cage’s we’ll have a fantastic year,” Hanson said.

Wienhoff allowed five hits and two-run with five strikeouts and only one walk.

WSC’s next game will be this Saturday, March 16 when the ‘Cats host Minnesota Crookston. This game will be the NSIC opener and will also be a doubleheader. The first pitch is set for 12 p.m.