February 10, 2019
TOPEKA, Kan. – Kansas Wesleyan outscored Dakota State (S.D.) 31-5 Sunday to complete a four-game series sweep at Bettis Sports Complex. The Coyotes won the first game by the score of 20-2 in five innings and closed out the series with an 11-3 victory over the Trojans.
Dakota State fell to 0-4 overall record. Kansas Wesleyan evened their overall record at 5-5, winning their fourth and fifth straight games after starting the season with 0-5 record.
DSU returns back to Kansas next weekend for a three-game series with Manhattan Christian (Kan.). The first game of the series starts on Friday at 4 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday at 12 p.m. The series take place at Eisenhower Baseball Complex in Manhattan, Kan.
Game 1 – Kansas Wesleyan 20, Dakota State (S.D.) 2 – FINAL/5 innings
The Coyotes exploded for 15 runs in the bottom first inning to take a 15-0 lead and never look back in the third game of the four-game series.
DSU scored a run in the top second frame. Chris Kropuenske led off with a walk. Ryan Jackovich hit a ground out and advanced Kropuenske to second base. Chris Burke reached on a walk. With Burke on third base and Tanner Landman on first base with two outs, Marcos Alvarez reached on base by a walk to set up a bases loaded situation for the Trojans.
Adrian Butrimas produced an RBI single to score Kropuenske as the Trojans trailed 15-1 in the top second inning.
KWU produced two runs in the bottom half of the second inning, thanks to a double by Russ McClung and a 2-RBI triple by Aaron Hurd to extend their lead to 17-1.
The Coyotes plated three runs in the bottom third to widen their lead to 20-1.
The Trojans scored a run in the top fifth frame caused by KWU's passed ball, trailing 20-2. Kansas Wesleyan ended the game in a double play to secure the win.
Butrimas led DSU with a single and RBI. Alvarez and Nathan Roets each added a single.
KWU produced six extra-base hits in the game, led by Craig Bettis with two doubles and drove in two runs. Hurd added a triple and registered a game-high five RBIs. McLung had a double and two RBIs. Austin Cross and Zach Farmer each had a triple.
KWU outhit DSU 10-3 in the game. The Trojans committed three defensive errors compared to the Coyotes zero miscues.
Kansas Wesleyan left eight runners on base compared to Dakota State seven runners left on base.
DSU used six different pitchers in the game. Micah DeHarty (L, 0-1) took the loss despite starting the game after giving up six runs on two hits. Ryan Peterson, Jared Urbach, Max Luesebrink, Matt Weichel and Andrew Dayton also pitched in the game for the Trojans.
Wyatt Formo (W, 1-2) eared the victory on the pitching mound for KWU. He worked for four innings and allowed one run on two hits. Ethan Kickhaefer and David Prueitt worked in the fifth inning in relief.
Game 2 – Kansas Wesleyan 11, Dakota State (S.D.) 3 – FINAL
The Trojans earned the first lead in the four-game series finale. Jerrett Plunkett reached on base caused by KWU's defensive error and advanced to second base on the same play. He advanced to third base after Jalen Boyd's ground out to second base. Samuel Drummond hit an RBI sacrifice fly to score Plunkeett to give DSU a 1-0 lead.
Kansas Wesleyan answered back with three runs in the bottom first. Cross led off with a double and swiped to third base. Bailey Watros hit an RBI sacrifice fly to score Cross to knot the game at 1-1.
McClung added a two-out 2-RBI single to balloon Kansas Wesleyan's lead to 3-1 in the bottom first frame.
Plunkett led off with a single in the top third for DSU. He advanced to second base after Boyd's sacrifice bunt. Drummond recorded an RBI single to score Plunkett as DSU trailed 3-2.
McClung hit an RBI single, followed by Timothy Storms' 2-RBI single to add another three-run inning for the Coyotes. Kansas Wesleyan's lead had ballooned to 6-2 by the end of the third frame.
The Coyotes plated two runs in the bottom fourth to make it 8-2.
With Drummond on first base with one out in the top fifth, Kropuenske hit a double down the left field line and advanced Drummond to third base. On the same play, Drummond scored home caused by KWU's defensive miscue as the Trojans cut Coyotes' lead to 8-3.
KWU produced another three-run inning in the bottom half of the fifth inning, widening their lead to 11-3.
DSU was unable to score in the final inning as they left two runners on base when the game ended.
Drummond led the Trojans' offense attack with a double, single and drove in two runs. Alvarez added two singles. Plunkett and Boyd each added a hit. Kropuenske had a double and reached on base by a walk two times.
Cross had two doubles, scored three times and recorded two RBIs for the Coyotes. He swiped two bases. Jeffrey Cochran added two singles and two RBIs. McClung had two hits and three RBIs. Josh Grubugh had a triple, single and an RBI.
Kansas Wesleyan registered 10 hits in the game compared to Dakota State seven hits. The Trojans left eight runners on base, while the Coyotes had five runners left on base.
Drummond (L, 0-1) took the loss on the pitching mound for DSU. He pitched for 2 2/3 innings and allowed six runs on six hits. Sage Hudson worked for 1 2/3 innings in relief and allowed four runs on three hits. Trey Randel worked for two outs, while Steven Suarez tossed a shutout inning.
Rodney Bond (W, 1-0) earned the victory after tossing five innings for KWU. He allowed three runs (two unearned) on six hits. Kaden Sitzman and Bettis each pitched a scoreless inning in relief.
Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director
