The University of Minnesota Duluth baseball team closed out their road series against the Wayne State College Wildcats this afternoon, falling 16-8 in a nine inning battle at the Pete Chapman Baseball Complex in Wayne, Nebraska.

Final Score: UMD (8) - WSC (16)

The Bulldogs launched out to a hot start with a home run over the right field wall from Joey Flom in the very first at bat of the game, moving UMD out to an early 1-0 lead.

Wayne State answered back in the bottom of the first, taking over the lead by adding two runs on a RBI double and a sacrifice fly out to center field.

The Wildcats added onto their lead in the next inning, collecting a run on a RBI single and another two runs on a two RBI double to push the score to 5-1.

Heading into the top of the third, Gabe Richardson, Troy Lynch, and Garrett Stauffacher reached to fill the bases on back to back walks and a hit by pitch. Hayden Anthony poked a ball over to the third base side and reached on a throwing error to score one and Sam Kliber drew a walk in the next at bat to get the score to 5-3.

The Bulldogs added one more run before the end of the inning on a sacrifice fly over to the right fielder, getting UMD within one by the end of the frame.

A two run home run from Braden Cannon kick started a six run bottom of the third for the Wildcats, keeping WSC ahead with a 11-4 lead.

A sacrifice fly from Caden Klebba added a run to the Bulldog's effort in the top of the fifth inning, but the Wildcats responded quickly with a three run home run from Taylor Gill in the bottom of the inning.

UMD continued to battle back, adding a run on a RBI groundout from Lynch in the sixth and another sacrifice fly from Klebba in the seventh to decrease the Bulldog deficit to 14-7, however WSC yet again had a answer by adding two runs in the bottom of the seventh to add two runs back to their lead.

The Bulldogs added one more run in the top of the ninth on a sacrifice fly from Ethan Pettis before the end of the game, closing out the weekend with a 16-8 loss.

Looking Ahead

Bulldog baseball (13-16, 9-11 NSIC) is set to return to Duluth for their 2025 season home opener this week against the Bemidji State University Beavers. First pitch against the Beavers is currently set for Tuesday, Apr. 8, at 1:30 PM.