YANKTON, S.D. — Dakota Wesleyan Baseball closed out the regular season with back-to-back days of doubleheaders down in Yankton against the rival Mount Marty Lancers at Riverside Field.
The first two games on Friday, April 24th, would be high-scoring affairs on both sides, with explosive offense being the main focus of the entire series. Both teams would post a scoreless first inning in game one before both posting two runs each in the second, as a Mason Riley two-run homer would kick off the entire scoring effort. The Lancers recorded two more runs in the bottom of the third to take a 4-2 lead, but the Tigers would storm back with four runs in the top of the fourth inning thanks to an RBI single from Lane Darrow, an RBI double from Caleb Meyers, and a two-RBI double from Kelbee Woodham at the top of the batting order, giving DWU a 6-4 advantage. Joe Tharaldson added to Dakota Wesleyan's lead in the top of the fifth with an RBI single, pushing the score to 7-4, but a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the frame allowed for a grand slam that instantly flipped the lead to the Lancers, 8-7. MMU put two more runs on the board in the bottom of the sixth to extend the lead to 10-7, but a final surge from the Tigers would bring them within a run, as Riley hit his second two-run homer of the day to set the score to 10-9. A strikeout and pop fly would end the rally, however, giving the Tigers the loss in game one. On the mound, Dexter Payne recorded three strikeouts in four innings pitched, and Dakota Munger and Nate Huisken posted two combined innings of relief.
Game two saw the first two innings go scoreless, with Brayden Cherrey starting his 4.2-inning appearance without giving up a run. A solo-shot home run from Landon Ruesink kicked off the scoring effort for the Tigers in the top of the third, but a runners-on situation for the Lancers would immediately tie it back up at 1-1 at the end of the frame. Dakota Wesleyan broke the tie in the top of the fifth as a sacrifice fly from C. Meyers, a two-RBI home run from Woodham, and a two-RBI double from Shane Cowan ballooned DWU's lead to 6-1. Mount Marty was quick to respond, however, forcing Huisken to come back out in relief, along with a one-inning stint from Broc Berry. The bottom of the fifth saw Mount Marty put up five runs of its own, tying the contest back up at 6-6, before claiming the lead in the next inning on a sacrifice fly, putting DWU down 7-6. Mount Marty extended the lead to 9-6, and while a home run from Ean Laird would give the team an initial burst for a final rally, alongside an RBI-single from Darrow to bring the game within one run, the Tigers would fall just short with a 9-8 final scoreline.
The second day of competition would see both contests slow slightly in place, especially in the first game of the day, which saw both DWU and MMU go scoreless through four full frames of the seven-inning contest. Alex Mizsak would record five total strikeouts in a six-inning performance, recording a quality start after only giving up two earned runs to help put the Tigers in a good spot late in the contest. A taken walk from Ruesink in the top of the fifth put the first run of the game on the board, while a groundout from Darrow with the bases loaded allowed Laird to cross home plate to give the Tigers an initial two-run lead. Mizsak held MMU scoreless for one more frame as a home run from Woodham and a two-RBI single from Carter Brown gave DWU a 5-0 lead before a three-run home run shot from Ruesink extended the Tiger lead even further, posting eight unanswered runs. The Lancers would work a rally back into motion, scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth and adding three more to the board in the seventh, but a final closing effort on the mound from Huisken and Lucas Koepsell secured the win for Dakota Wesleyan, 8-5.
C. Meyers would take the mound for the Tigers in a must-win final game of the regular season, given the seeding situation for the eight-team GPAC postseason tournament, and he would deliver, setting a new career-high of 10 recorded strikeouts through 6.0 innings pitched. Meyers typically plays both ways, but with Caleb Breuer plugged into the lineup, the senior pitcher was able to put up a career-best performance with his sole focus on the defensive side of the ball. While he held the Lancers scoreless for four innings, the Tiger offense got to work, as RBI doubles in the top of the second from Riley and Tharaldson gave DWU an initial 2-0 lead, before Payne added to the lead with a solo-shot home run and Darrow recorded an RBI single to bring the score to 4-0. The Mount Marty offense got on the board with two runs in the top of the fifth and worked to put together another rally. Tharaldson would record a crucial two-RBI single in the top of the sixth to extend the Tiger lead to 6-2 before MMU was able to finally slow down the DWU offense. The Lancers put up two runs in the seventh and one in the eighth to bring the scoreline within a run, 6-5, but a clutch closing effort from Koepsell in the bottom of the ninth would seal the win for the Tigers. Berry would also tally two innings of work in relief. With the back-to-back wins to close the regular season, DWU Baseball wraps up the 2026 regular season 19-26 overall and 10-18 in GPAC play.
Following the four-game stretch, the Tigers secured the sixth seed in the 2026 GPAC Championship Tournament. They will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska at Sherman Field to take on the third-seeded Morningside Mustangs on Wednesday, April 29th, at 3:00 PM. See the full 2026 schedule and get more postseason details here.