SIOUX CITY, Iowa & MITCHELL, S.D. — In the span of three days, Dakota Wesleyan Baseball would face the Briar Cliff Chargers in a set of GPAC doubleheaders, first in Sioux City, and later in Mitchell.
The Tigers opened the top of the first inning in the four-game stretch with a sacrifice fly from Dexter Payne that got Lane Darrow across home plate before the top of the second saw DWU add four more runs to the board, including a massive three-run home run from Caleb Meyers, to extend its lead to 5-0. The initial spurt of offense would be met by Briar Cliff in the bottom of the second as a five-run frame quickly tied the game before the Chargers fully took control. Alex Mizsak recorded two strikeouts in 4.1 innings pitched and held down the next two innings on the mound, but another big run of offense from BCU extended its lead to 9-5. Dakota Munger tossed 1.2 innings of relief and tallied a strikeout, but the offense on the back end was not able to respond, dropping game one 10-5.
Once again, Dakota Wesleyan began the next contest with opening-inning runs, as Joseph Tharaldson drove in a run on a single to right field before Payne would score in a chaotic stealing situation to go up 2-0. Briar Cliff was able to match the score like game one, but this time, the defense and the pitching effort on both sides held steady through the majority of the remainder of the contest. C. Meyers pitched 6.2 innings in his start, tallying seven strikeouts while keeping BCU scoreless from the third through the sixth innings. DWU's stalled offense kept the score tied, however, and left the Chargers in perfect position to walk the game off in the bottom of the seventh with a single to center field, winning over the Tigers, 3-2.
The second doubleheader would be played at Drake Field and be hosted by the Tigers. It would be Briar Cliff this time around that would get the initial jump on offense with five runs in the first two innings, but three-run home runs from both Ean Laird and C. Meyers gave the Tigers a quick 6-5 lead. The home run for Laird would be his first of four on the day between both games, recording another one in the bottom of the sixth in this particular contest, tallying six RBIs throughout the game on three total hits. Even still, the offense on both sides continued to find runs down the stretch, with Dakota Wesleyan putting runs on the board thanks to Talan Ball and Laird, but Briar Cliff would put up five runs in the final two frames to take an 11-10 victory over DWU. Payne recorded three strikeouts on the mound in 4.0 innings pitched.
The final contest of the four-game stretch saw both Briar Cliff and Dakota Wesleyan put up a handful of runs in the first inning, with BCU's four being countered by three from DWU, including Laird's third home run of the day and a fielder's choice groundout from Kelbee Woodham that got Mason Riley to home plate. As Broc Berry was able to settle in to the next few innings, the Tigers took the lead with three more runs in the bottom of the third, which included Laird's fourth home run of the day and his team-leading fifth on the year, slashing .353/.389/1.294 through 17 at-bats this season. The impressive offensive effort through the first half of the contest would not be enough, however, as the Chargers rallied to score three runs in the top of the fifth and four in the sixth to take an 11-6 lead. They would add one more to the board on a home run down the left side of the field, and while Darrow added one more run to the board, the Tigers would still lose, 12-7. DWU moves to 14-19 on the season and 5-11 in GPAC play.
DWU Baseball will be back in action on Friday, April 10th, as the Tigers host the Dordt Defenders. See the full 2026 schedule here.