April 21, 2026

ORANGE CITY, Iowa – Dakota State (S.D.) used timely hitting and a strong bullpen effort to secure a 6-3 non-conference finale victory over Northwestern (Iowa) Tuesday afternoon at Baseball Diamond.  DSU snapped their five-game losing skid and extended their winning streak in the series meeting with the Red Raiders to four games.

The Trojans improved to 17-26-1 overall, while Northwestern dropped to 25-18. It was the first meeting for both teams since their 3-game series in 2022.
  How it happened

Dakota State struck first in the opening inning, taking advantage of a Northwestern error. Connor Raney reached first base at the start of the game, swiped to second base, advanced to third base after Aidan Perry's ground out, and later scored on an RBI sacrifice fly by Camaron Haller for a 1-0 DSU lead.
Northwestern answered in the second inning, tying the game 1-1 on an RBI single by Brody Ayers. However, the Trojans responded with a decisive third inning.

Dakota State plated three runs, highlighted by a two-RBI double from Aiden Barfuss and an RBI ground out by Ryland Carroll to extend the lead to 4-1.

The Red Raiders trimmed the deficit to 4-2 in the bottom of the third on a solo home run by Kevin Rubio, but Dakota State continued to maintain the lead. The Trojans added two more runs in the fifth inning, with Jaxon DeHaan delivering an RBI sacrifice fly to score Aidan Marsh (who reached on base by a walk and advanced to third base after Carroll's double) and Raney adding an RBI single (to score Carroll) to make it 6-2.

Northwestern scored once more in the seventh on an RBI ground out by Jack Craig, but Dakota State's bullpen shut the door over the final frames. Braylon Bear earned the win with four innings of relief, allowing just one run (unearned) on three hits, while Brody Thompson picked up his third save with two scoreless innings.
  Key Performers

• Dakota State
  • George Hogan: 3-for-5, two doubles
  • Aiden Barfuss: 2-for-5, double, 2 RBIs
  • Connor Raney: 1-for-3, 2 walks, RBI, run scored
  • Cameron DeMaria: 2-for-4, run scored
     
• Northwestern (Iowa)
  • Kevin Rubio: 2-for-4, home run, RBI
  • Calab Caciari: 1-for-3, run scored
  • Brody Ayers: 1-for-3, RBI
     

Team Statistics

• Dakota State: 6 runs, 10 hits, 2 errors
• Northwestern (Iowa): 3 runs, 5 hits, 1 error
   

Pitching Summary

• Dakota State
  • Jack Sorenson: 3.0 innings, 2 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 strikeouts
  • Braylon Bear (W, 1-4): 4 innings, 3 hits, 1 run (0 earned runs), 2 strikeouts
  • Brody Thompson (Sv, 3): 2 innings, 0 hits, 0 runs, 2 strikeouts
• Northwestern (Iowa)
  • Luke Greth: 2 innings, 1 run (0 earned runs)
  • Chase Dixson (L, 0-1): 1 inning, 3 earned runs
  • Quintyn Vold: 1 inning, 2 earned runs
  • Staff allowed 10 hits and 6 runs overall

Up Next

Dakota State plays their final home regular season games Friday and Saturday in the Frontier Conference's four-game series with Mayville State (N.D.) at Flynn Field.  The doubleheader starts on Friday (Paws at the Park) at 1 p.m. and Saturday (Seniors Day) at 12 p.m.