CRETE, Neb. & MITCHELL, S.D. — Dakota Wesleyan Baseball faced Doane and Waldorf in GPAC doubleheaders before rounding out the stretch of competition in an out-of-conference nine-inning contest against the Dakota State Trojans.
The first stretch of the trip saw Dakota Wesleyan travel to Nebraska to face the Doane Tigers in two contests in conference play. DWU's offense would struggle in both contests to get rolling, but Ean Laird would be the main highlight for the team during the series with a two-run homer past the left-field wall in the second contest. The notable score would be DWU's main surge of offense, dropping both contests to Doane, 18-0 and 22-2. Nolan Dvorak led the Tigers in relief with two strikeouts in the first game on the mound, and Brayden Cherrey posted two strikeouts of his own in game two of the series.
The Tigers would host the Waldorf Warriors at Drake Field two days after the Doane series, looking to get back a set of key GPAC wins as the season continues along. DWU's offense would be slow to start, but ace Alex Mizsak would put in a quality start in a full seven-inning, seven-strikeout performance to keep the Tigers within contention, even as Waldorf was able to capitalize on a few early hits. The Warriors would score three runs in the top of the second before both defenses shut out the middle frames for either side before Waldorf would once again put runs on the board in the top of the sixth, extending its lead to 5-0, but the offense would spring to life with a six-run bottom of the inning that was kicked off by a double from Caleb Meyers that would see him reach home on a passed ball. The bases would load back up to allow for a walk taken by Diego Jirau to get a second run across the plate, and Brett Groebner would follow it up with the first home run of his collegiate career as he sent a grand slam past the right-field wall to give the Tigers their first lead of the game. A final stint of solid pitching from Mizsak generated weak contact to end the top of the seventh and end game one in favor of Dakota Wesleyan, 6-5.
The second contest against Waldorf saw the Tigers get the offense rolling early with a massive opening frame that would see another bases-loaded situation go in their favor, as an error would get Lane Darrow across home plate before a Mason Riley walk earned the second run of the day. Joseph Tharaldson would knock a single into left-center field to get Talan Ball home before a home run from Jackson Jarding would clear the bases to give the Tigers a 7-0 advantage after the first inning. Waldorf was able to get on the board, but C. Meyers was able to force eight strikeouts in his starting appearance to help keep the Warrior offense at bay. Tharaldson would reach home in the bottom of the third on a wild pitch before he would earn another RBI on a single in the bottom of the fourth. A double from Dexter Payne would get Ball across home plate once again to extend DWU's lead back out to 11-3. The top of the sixth would see the Warriors mount a comeback with a series of knocks into the outfield, and while Darrow would get an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth, the Warriors worked the score back to 12-11 by the top of the eighth inning. The DWU offense wouldn't be able to earn any safety runs in the bottom of the frame, but a shutdown one-inning, two-strikeout closing performance from Cherrey would deny the comeback and earn him a save on the day.
The following day, the Tigers hosted the Dakota State Trojans in a full nine-inning contest at Drake Field to wrap up the four days. The Trojans opened the contest with a single to right-center field to get a run on the board, but the Tigers would strike back with five runs of their own, scored on RBIs from Riley, Payn, and Tharaldson, before a double from Landon Ruesink would get runs four and five on the board for Dakota Wesleyan. The 5-1 score would hold for just an inning and a half as two runs in the top of the third favored Dakota State before adding a fourth run to the board to bring the score within a run, 5-4. After the fourth inning, the pitching efforts on both sides got their chances to shine, as Colton Thomas would wrap up his start with three strikeouts before Broc Berry pitched six innings of relief, holding the Trojans scoreless for the next four innings. A passed ball in the top of the ninth would break the scoring drought, but would favor DSU, tying the game at 5-5. The Tigers would be able to generate a run in regulation, sending the game into extra frames. A bases-loaded walk and sacrifice-fly would give the Trojans two runs to take their first lead of the game, and while a double to left-center field from C. Meyers would bring the Tigers close, the final would-have-been game-winning home run from Payne would be robbed at the fence, resulting in a 7-6 loss for Dakota Wesleyan. Following the five-game stretch, the Tigers move to 14-15 overall and 5-7 in GPAC play.
DWU Baseball will be back in action on Monday, April 6th, at Briar Cliff starting at 1:00 PM. See the full 2026 schedule here.