Nebraska Wesleyan managed just nine total hits in two games after collecting 29 in the doubleheader on Saturday against Dordt, as Morningside College came to Lincoln and swept the Prairie Wolves in a Great Plains Athletic Conference doubleheader on Sunday afternoon (Apr. 18). Morningside won game one, 10-3, then took game two, 8-3.
The losses drop NWU below .500 at 11-13 overall and 7-9 in the GPAC to fall into eighth place in the league.
Morningside jumped all over NWU pitcher Cory Hilgenkamp in the first game. Hilgenkamp had trouble finding the strike zone with three consecutive walks in the first inning as the Mustangs jumped ahead 3-0. A two-run home run by Jared Noteboom in the second inning put them up 5-0, then Kyle Smith opened the third with a solo home run to go up 6-0 and knock Hilgenkamp out of the game.
NWU did score a run in the third and two more in the fifth, but only managed three hits in the game. Bryon Janata was 2-4 with a two-run single and Griffin DePriest had the other hit.
Game two was more of a pitchers dual the first five innings between Gabe Shockman and NWU's Ryan Dolezal. Morningside scored a run in the first after a hit batter, wild pitch and throwing error allowed the leadoff batter Bret Hoch to score. Dolezal did not allow another run until the sixth.
Shockman was just as effective for Morningside as NWU did not get on the board until the fifth. Dan Beckmann singles, then pinch runner Beau Kelly moved to second on a failed pick off attempt. Kelly then scored on when the shortstop committed a throwing error to first base.
Morningside strung together four hits in the top of the sixth to score three runs and take a 4-1 lead.
NWU battled back in the home half of the sixth. Back-to-back singles by Hilgenkamp and Derek Erb-Woods started the inning then DePriest walked to load the bases with one out. An infield single by Beckmann pulled NWU within two at 4-2. Janata then hit a sac fly to right to pull NWU within one run. After Andy McGowan was hit by a pitch, Josh Ostrom hit a hard line drive right at the second baseman to end the rally.
The Mustangs scored four more runs in the top of the seventh off the NWU bullpen to give them the 8-3 win.
Dolezal took the loss for NWU going 5 1/3 allowing eight hits and four earned runs with four strikeouts. Erb-Woods and Beckmann both had two hits for NWU as the Prairie Wolves had six hits in game two.
