Wayne, Neb. — Wayne State and Northern State split a Northern Sun Conference baseball doubleheader Saturday afternoon on Senior Day at the Pete Chapman Baseball Complex in Wayne as the Wildcats rolled in the opener 14-1 followed by a 5-2 Northern State victory in the nightcap. WSC is now 25-17 and 20-12 in the NSIC following the split while NSU is 18-26 and 13-21 in league games.
The opener saw the ‘Cats use a pair of five-run innings combined with two-hit pitching over five innings from starter Jackson Shelburne as WSC cruised to a 14-1 win.
A Trey Wells two-run single in the first got WSC off to a quick 2-0 lead. Chase Douglas had an RBI single in the second and later scored on a wild pitch putting the ‘Cats in front 4-0.
A five-run third inning elevated Wayne State’s lead to 9-0. Wells had a leadoff triple and scored on Kyler Essink’s single for the first run of the inning. Carter Thomas followed with a two-run single and Douglas added another RBI single for big hits in the inning.
Northern State avoided the shutout with a run in the top of the sixth, but WSC produced another five-run inning in the bottom of the sixth for a 14-1 win. Senior Nick Barnett’s three-run triple was the big hit of the inning while Alex Calabrese and Dylan Jutze each had RBI singles.
WSC had 14 hits in the win. Douglas went 3 for 4 with two RBI, two runs scored and two stolen bases in the win. Wells was 2 for 3 with a triple and two RBI. Thomas had a 2 for 3 game with two RBI and two runs scored while Calabrese also had two hits in the win.
Shelburne (2-3) worked five innings of scoreless ball, allowing just two hits with three strikeouts to get the win. Senior Brody Sintek pitched the final two innings.
The second game saw Wayne State turn three double plays, but Northern State used a five-run fifth inning to take control of the game and earn a split with a 5-2 win over the Wildcats.
WSC scored first in the bottom of the second to grab the early 1-0 lead as Quinn McCafferty doubled and later scored on a passed ball.
The score stayed 1-0 until the fifth inning when Northern State scored five runs with two outs and just one runner on base. The Wolves used a single, hit batter, two-run double, hit batter and three-run double to quickly change the tone of the game in the fifth inning.
Wayne State got one run back in the sixth inning, cutting the Wolves’ lead to 5-2, when Cam Madsen singled and scored on a sacrifice fly by McCafferty.
Both teams had eight hits in the game. Colin Lynam was 3 for 4 while Essink finished 2 for 3. Madsen and McCafferty each singled and scored a run while Douglas singled and stole a base.
Junior Nathan Anderson (2-4) was tagged with the pitching loss, allowing five runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings. Junior Josh Kilzer worked the final 2 2/3 innings and gave up just one hit with three strikeouts.
Wayne State and Northern State are scheduled to conclude their three-game NSIC series with a nine-inning game Sunday at 12 p.m. weather permitting.
