Late Inning Surge Hands Beavers Split with Wayne State

Posted - Saturday, March 19, 2011 5:47 pm
PHOTO COURTESY OF BSU PHOTO SERVICES


The Bemidji State University baseball team used a four-run seventh inning in game two of a nonconference doubleheader at Wayne State College Saturday to earn an 11-10 win and a twin-bill split.The Wildcats (5-7) scored four runs in the bottom of the second inning to take a 4-0 lead on the Beavers (6-4). BSU scored twice in the top of the fourth to cut the deficit in half, but WSC responded with a three-spot in the bottom half of the inning and owned a 7-2 lead. The Beavers got three in the next frame, but the Wildcats tacked on two more in the bottom half, en route to the 9-5 victory. 

Sophomore right-hander Ryan Anderson (Lino Lakes, Minn.) started for the Beavers, throwing 3.2 innings and allowing seven runs on eight hits with six strikeouts. Sophomore Lewis Baumann (MIF, Colorado Springs, Colo.) went 2-for-3 with his second homerun of the season that recorded him two RBI and a run scored. Sophomore Riley Hirsch (C, Little Falls, Minn.) was 2-for-2 with a run. 

Game two was full of dramatics as the Beavers had to battle back the entire game. WSC posted three runs in the first and five in the second to jump out to a 8-2 lead. After four innings of play the home team owned a solid 10-5 lead. The Beavers got two back in the fifth inning that started with junior Juan Molero (Maracaibo, Venezuela) reaching base on an error and eventually scoring.

The sixth inning went scoreless before the Beaver bats came alive in the top of the seventh inning. After manufacturing one run BSU was down to its last out, trailing 10-8. Freshman catcher Zach Braun (Lakeville, Minn.) drove fellow freshman Cody Bergquist (Chisago Lakes, Minn.) home with a base knock to center field. He was moved to third by a senior designated hitter Joe Chism (Great Bend, Kan.) base hit to right center, then the flustered Wildcat pitching staff threw balls away instead of down the plate. A passed ball plated Braun and moved Chism to third, tying the game 10-10. Still on Molero's at bat, a wild pitch got Chism across the plate for what would prove to be the winning run.

Sophomore Ryan Brezinski (RHP, Regina, Saskatchewan) came into the game in the bottom of the seventh to look for his second win in the green and white. After walking the first batter, he settled down and got the next three outs in consecutive order to give the Beavers their sixth win of the season.

Senior Ryan Guy (RHP, Fountain Hills, Ari.) threw two innings of scoreless baseball, fanning two batters and allowing three hits to allow BSU to stay in the game. Freshman right-hander Miles Campbell (Eden Prairie, Minn.) allowed all 10 WSC runs on 10 hits with five strikeouts. Sophomore Matt Ellinghuysen (3B/C, Saint Charles, Minn.) had a career-high three hits, going 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored with his first-career homerun. Braun also had a three-hit performance, going 3-for-4 with two RBI and one run.   

Bemidji State continues action in Wayne, Neb March 20 with a  doubleheader slated for a 12 p.m. start.