#15 Wayne State 9 Southwest Minnesota State 1
Senior Nick Schumacher proved why he was chosen the 2008 NSIC Pitcher of the Year by striking out a career-high 14 batters Friday afternoon to lead 15th-ranked Wayne State in a convincing 9-1 win over Southwest Minnesota State at the Northern Sun Conference Baseball Tournament played in Wayne at the Pete Chapman Baseball Complex. With the win, the 40-10 Wildcats move to the winner's bracket final Saturday at 10 a.m. while eliminating Southwest Minnesota State from the tournament with the Mustangs finishing at 24-20.
Wayne State gave Schumacher plenty of run support early, scoring seven runs in the first three innings, and the Wildcats never looked back in the 9-1 win. WSC used an RBI triple from Marc Manganaro and run-scoring singles by Alex Koch and Sean Soderberg to grab an early 3-0 lead in the first inning. Koch produced another RBI single in the second inning to put the 'Cats in front 4-0. In the third inning, Soderberg tripled and scored on Nick Bidroski's single to make the score 5-0. Justin Hemauer's fielders' choice brought home Bidroski to give WSC a 6-0 advantage with Josh Yost delivering an RBI single to score Brian Sulzman to push the lead to 7-0 after three innings.
Freshman catcher Matt Dunn belted a solo homer to center field in the seventh inning to give WSC an 8-0 edge and took a 9-0 lead in the eighth inning when pinch-hitter Jordan Webb singled up the middle to bring home Nick Bidroski with the 'Cats final run. SMSU put together three hits in the bottom of the eighth inning to score their lone run to make the final score 9-1.
WSC belted out 18 hits in the win as Soderberg finished 3 for 5 with a triple and two singles while Nick Bidroski was 3 for 3 with three singles. Justin Hemauer, Josh Yost, Marc Manganaro and Alex Koch each finished with two hits apiece for the Wildcats.
Schumacher (13-1) pitched a complete game for WSC, allowing just one run on seven hits with a career-high 14 strikeouts and no walks.
Wayne State, 40-10 overall, records its third 40-win season in the last five years and will play Concordia-St. Paul in the NSIC Tournament winner's bracket final on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Pete Chapman Baseball Complex in Wayne.
