WAYNE, Neb. – The Minot State baseball notched a walk-off 7-6 win and a 5-3 come from behind victory to earn the series sweep over Wayne State on Friday afternoon at the Pete Chapman Baseball Complex in Wayne, Neb.
The doubleheader sweep improves the Beavers to 14-10 overall and 12-2 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play while the Wildcats fall to 8-14 overall and 6-6 in the NSIC.
Game One
Minot State opened the scoring in the first game with two runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Kyle Williamson and
Michael Borst reached on singles before
Celestino Rodriguez connected on an RBI single to score Williamson. Borst doubled the Beaver lead after scoring on a wild pitch.
Trailing 2-0, Wayne State poured in four runs on five hits in the third inning to take a 4-2 lead before adding one more run in the fifth inning.
The Beavers answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. With the bases loaded,
Andrew Black reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Borst. Minot State cut it to a one-run game when Rodriguez came home to score on a wild pitch.
Dustin Wilcox launched a 3-1 pitch over the wall in left center to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning with a solo home run, tying the game at five.
The Wildcats answered with back-to-back doubles in the top of the seventh inning to take a 6-5 lead over the Beavers.
Borst led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a walk before scoring on an RBI double to center from Doll to tie the game at six. With runners on second and third and one out,
Andrew Black singled to the pitcher, allowing Doll to score the game-winning run.
The Beavers scored seven runs on 10 hits in the victory.
Wyatt Schlosser, Borst and Rodriguez paced Minot State with two hits each. Four other Beavers recorded one hit while Black led the Beavers with two RBIs.
Justin Demary notched his second win of the season while earning the complete-game victory. The Lake Charles, La. native tossed seven innings while giving up six runs on nine hits and striking out three batters.
Game Two
Wayne State the first run of the game in the second inning and added a pair of runs in the third inning to take a 3-0 lead.
Rodriguez opened the scoring for the Beavers in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run over the right field wall. Minot State trimmed their deficit in half when
Trevaun Smith scored on a sacrifice fly from
Geordie McDougall.
Minot State tied the game in the fifth inning when Borst scored on a sacrifice fly from Doll after tripling to center field.
With the game tied at three in the seventh, Schlosser reached base on a walk and stole second and third base before scoring the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.
The Beavers added an insurance run in the eighth inning when Smith scored on an RBI groundout to second base by Black to clinch the 5-3 win.
The Beavers totaled 10 hits for the second straight game while led by Rodriguez and Smith with three hits apiece. Borst added two hits, followed by Williamson and Black with one hit each.
Tannar Galey improved to 2-0 on the season while tossing three innings of two-hit relief to earn the victory.
Jack Gamba notched his second save of the season after recording the final three outs to preserve the two-run win.
Wyatt Moore started the game on the mound while
Aaron Bernal and
Jeremy Sylvester also made relief appearances.
Minot State returns to action next weekend, as the Beavers are scheduled to host Concordia-St. Paul in a four-game series on Saturday and Sunday, April 7-8. The two teams will play two doubleheaders each day beginning at noon.
