Five players had at least two hits apiece and Nebraska Wesleyan scored 11 runs in the fifth inning as the Prairie Wolves rolled past University of Sioux Falls, 19-3, to secure the Great Plains Athletic Conference doubleheader sweep on Sunday (Mar. 29) in Lincoln. NWU rallied back to win game one, 9-7, after trailing 5-1 early.

Nebraska Wesleyan now improves to 14-4 overall and 6-2 in the GPAC after posting thier second straight 3-1 record for a conference weekend. Sioux Falls falls to 8-11 overall and 5-3 in the GPAC.
It was a hit parade for the Prairie Wolves in game two as they pounded out 16 hits and took advantage of six walks and four USF errors in the game. NWU led 4-2 after three innings before scoring four runs in the fourth and 11 in the fifth inning in a game that was called due to the run rule.

The Prairie Wolves had eight hits in the big fifth inning, but the biggest hit was a 3-run home run by senior Tyler Stephenson. It was his first career home run in 167 total at-bats. Stephenson finished the day a perfect 3-3 with four RBI and four runs scored.

Griffin DePriest also had three hits going 3-4 with three RBI, while Bryon Janata, Dan Beckmann and Jeremy Peters each had two hits.

Josh Ostrom got the win to improve to 3-0, allowing just three hits and no earned runs in 5.0 innings of work.

In the opener, USF scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning, using three NWU errors to go up 5-1. The Prairie Wolves continued to battle, scoring two in the third and taking the lead in the fourth inning with three runs on a two-run triple by Ostrom.

USF added a run in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game, but NWU scored one in the sixth and two in the seventh to pick up the win.

Max Hubka was 3-4 at the plate with two RBI to lead NWU. Cory Hilgenkamp moved to a perfect 4-0 on the mound as he got the complete game victory. He earned the win by allowing three earned runs and stranding 11 Cougar runners.

Nebraska Wesleyan will return to action next Saturday when they travel to Hastings, Neb., to take on Hastings College. The Broncos are currently tied with NWU in the GPAC standings at 6-2.