MITCHELL, S.D. – The Northwestern College baseball team (16-20, 8-12 GPAC) completed the four-game set with the Dakota Wesleyan Tigers (13-20, 7-13 GPAC), dropping the final two games of the series. Braden Kalvelage notches his first-career start, hit, RBI, and double in the doubleheader. Drew Dykstra ties his season- and career-high with seven strike outs in his Game 2 start.
GAME 1: Dakota Wesleyan 6, Northwestern 4 (F/7)
DWU started the game with a pair of runs in the first lead, holding a 2-0 lead after one.
The Raiders would get on the board with Braden Kalvelage’s (Fr., Hastings, Neb./Hastings) first-career RBI on a single, scoring Tanner Schouten (Fr., Orange City, Iowa/Unity Christian), cutting the Tiger lead in half, 2-1.
In the third, the Raiders would draw even with an RBI sacrifice fly from Mason Porepp (So., Pleasant Hill, Iowa/Southeast Polk).
Northwestern would load the bases with less than two outs in the fourth inning but could not push across a run to take their first lead of the game.
Dakota Wesleyan would answer with two of runs in the home half of the fourth thanks to a couple of hit-by-pitches and a Raider error, taking back the lead at 4-2.
The fifth inning saw the second sacrifice fly score a run for Northwestern, this time form Colby Shelton (Fr., Urbandale, Iowa/Des Moines Christian).
The Raiders would find a way to pull even for the second time in the contest in the sixth inning thanks to an RBI single from Sam Stanford (So., Los Angeles, Calif./Pacifica Christian) who scored Evan Olesen (So., Estherville, Iowa/Estherville Lincoln Central) who reached on a single to begin the frame. The top half of the sixth would come to an end even at 4-4.
For the third time in the contest, the Tigers put up a two spot in the sixth to retake the lead, 6-4.
GAME 2: Dakota Wesleyan 4, Northwestern 3
The Tigers struck first in the home half of the first again, plating another two runs to start the game with a 2-0 lead.
A run in both the second and third innings brought the game even at 2-2. An RBI groundout from Jacob Kindhart (Jr., Shawnee, Kan./St. James Academy) cut the DWU deficit to 2-1, while a Tiger error evened up the game in the fourth.
Two runs in the bottom of the fifth would give DWU the 4-2 lead after five full from Cadwell Park.
In the seventh, Northwestern gets the first two hitters on base but momentum is cut by a double play. An RBI single from Olesen would cut the Tiger lead to 4-3.
Northwestern was unable to do anything offensively in the final two frames as Dakota Wesleyan would prevail 4-2 to take the four-game set 3-1.
The Raiders will return to the field back in Orange City on Tuesday, April 19 as the No. 17-ranked Braves of Ottawa University (Kan.) (35-5, 23-3 KCAC) to complete the four-game set at the Baseball Diamond. First pitch is set for noon (12:00 p.m.).
