The Wayne State College baseball and softball teams saw shortened weekends due to the weather, with each team seeing a pair of games get canceled.
Both teams already saw their schedules shifted because of the weather conditions, and with the weather being worse than expected, both a baseball and softball doubleheader against the University of Mary Marauders on Friday, March 22 got canceled.
However, there still was baseball and softball that was played. On Thursday, March 21, the baseball team matched up with the Marauders for a doubleheader. In game one, both offense were out to slow starts. The two offenses combined for only five hits through the first four and a half innings before the Wildcats broke through in the bottom of the fifth. First baseman Ken Young hit a one-out triple down the right field line, and third baseman Braden Cannon sent him home with a sacrifice fly to center.
The 1-0 lead did not last long, as the Marauders quickly compiled two baserunners off a hit by pitch and a double to left. With runners on second and third, left fielder Carter Beck hit a sacrifice fly to score one run and the next at bat saw Noah Hull single to bring home the second run. The Marauders then blew the game open in the seventh inning, scoring four runs on five hits, including a three-run homerun from second baseman Josh Walker. The Marauders went on to take game one 6-1.
Game two saw the Marauders continue the momentum from the end of game one, as UMary scored three runs in each of the first, second and fourth innings. The Wildcats were able to answer some of those runs early on. A Trey Wells’ solo homerun in the first and a three-run third, highlighted by a Marauder fielding error and a wild pitch, made it 9-4 after four innings.
The bottom of the fifth saw the Wildcat offense explode, scoring five runs in the frame. First, shortstop Quinn McCafferty hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Chase Douglas. Then, after Young singled to lead the bases, Alex Calabrese hit a double to left field, scoring Wells and Colin Lynam. The onslaught continued after a Marauder pitching change, when Cade Lynam hit a two-out single to center, scoring both Young and Calabrese. The game was level at nine after five frames.
It wasn’t until the seventh where more runs were scored. Calabrese broke the tie with a two-run moonshot to left field. The Wildcats added an insurance run in the eighth to make it 12-9 in favor of WSC. After a whirlwind of fielding changes for the Wildcats, Cannon took the mound to try to limit any hopes of a Marauder comeback. Cannon only issued a two-out walk, before getting the final batter to fly out, securing the save and securing the Wildcat win.
The Wildcats’ overall record now moves 13-7 with an 8-2 record in conference play. With the results from around the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, the Wildcats currently sit at second place only behind Augustana.
Softball also saw action this past weekend, with a doubleheader against the Minot State Beavers on Saturday, March 23. Because of the weather, the doubleheader was moved out of Wayne to the Dordt Sports Dome in Souix Center, Iowa.
Game one saw a pitcher’s dual. Samantha Felt got the start for the Wildcats and gave up two early runs, one in each the first and third innings, but stayed strong in the fourth and fifth before getting subbed out. The Beaver pitching tandem of Reegan Floyd and Kierra Fournier combined to issue just three walks and allow only five hits while striking out five WSC batters en route to a 2-0 Beaver victory. The Wildcats had many opportunities to generate offense, but left runners on base in five out of the seven innings.
Game two was even more so dominated by the Beavers. The Wildcats gave up runs on five of the seven innings, including three runs in each of the fifth and seventh. A similar storyline unfolded in game two for the Wildcat offense as well. They pushed across two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, but again left too many runners on base, as the Beavers took game two 10-2. The softball team now has a record of 4-22, with an 0-2 record in NSIC play.
WSC is back in action on both diamonds this weekend. The baseball team has a four-game series with the Minot State Beavers on Friday, March 29 and Saturday, March 30, and softball sees a doubleheader with the St. Cloud State Huskies on Friday, March 29 and a doubleheader against the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs on Saturday, March 30.
