Aberdeen, S.D. – A blowout in game one, and battle in game two resulted in a Saturday evening split for the Northern State University baseball team against Wayne State. Following the doubleheader the Wolves move to 17-21 overall and 10-16 in the NSIC.
The Wolves opened game one with five runs in the bottom of the first inning and did not look back.
Ben Carolin led off the game with a single through the right side. Despite two quick outs on the next at-bat, Northern rallied for five runs off five hits.
Lucas Lorenz singled to third base, followed by a single through the left side by
Ben Allen scoring Carolin. The runs kept rolling in as
Seth Sullwold and
Ashton Williamson hit back-to-back doubles to left center clearing the bases.
Mikey Barreneche then singled up the middle, scoring Williamson for the team's final run of the inning.
Northern added one run in the third and three runs in the sixth off homeruns by Lorenz and
Jack Schmidt. Lorenz blasted a moon ball to left for his 11
th homerun of the season, while Schmidt hit the ball of a rope down the left field line for his fifth of the season. The pair led the team with two hits each in the win, alongside Carolin.
Allen, Sullwold, Williamson, and Barreneche tallied the final four team hits for the Wolves as seven out of the nine starters made their way into the scorebook.
Starter
Luke Chevalier earned his fifth win of the season throwing fourth complete game of the year. The sophomore gave up just one earned run on four hits and struck out three in the process. He is now leading the team with five wins and a 1.64 season ERA.
The Wolves quickly took the lead in game two with two runs in both the first and second innings, however the lead didn't hold as the Wildcats stormed back in the fifth, sixth, and seventh. The Wolves had their opportunities leaving ten runners on base through nine innings, including the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth with the go-ahead run on first.
Lorenz and Allen led the team in the night cap with two hits each. Lorenz went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Allen went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two walks. Carolin,
Tyler Gripentrog, Barreneche, and Leary tallied the final four hits of the game. Leary added to the homeruns for the day, hitting his first of the season a blast to left.
Nick Hoffard started, keeping the Wolves in the game. The senior threw six innings, giving up four runs, two of which were earned, on six hits with five strikeouts. The game marks Hoffard's second no-decision of the season.
Andrew Nichols entered in relief in the seventh and suffered his second loss of the season.
Isaiah Greene held the Wildcats scoreless through the final three innings, however the NSU offense was unable to push runs across the board.
Northern returns to the diamond tomorrow beginning at 12 p.m. for the final two games of the series versus Wayne State.
