BEMIDJI, Minn. (BSU Baseball Field) - Five Bemidji State pitchers combined to allow 25 runs on 28 hits as the Wayne State Wildcats completed a four-game Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference sweep of the Beavers with 13-2 and 12-3 victories in a double-header today.

Wayne State used a five-run first inning and built a 7-0 lead through four innings, while three Wildcat pitchers limited Bemidji State to six hits in a 13-2 Game 1 setback. The first three Wildcat batters reached safely with Dustin Jones scoring on an RBI single from Scott Bidroski, and after a strikeout the next six Wayne State hitters reached safely. The five-run rally was capped by a two-RBI bases-loaded single by Danny Benge. Vincente Cafaro scored on an error by BSU center fielder Tadhg Baucom (Chicago, Ill.) and Marc Manganaro picked up an RBI single to help the Wildcats push their lead to 7-0 in the fourth.

BSU broke up the shutout in the bottom of the fifth when Baucom picked up a sacrifice fly to score Eric Pilgrim (Park Rapids, Minn.), but Wayne State answered with two runs in the top of the sixth when Manganaro reached on a two-base error and pushed across two runs.

Dan Wagner (Hermantown, Minn.) singled home Tony Klaers (Elk River, Minn.) in the sixth to pull BSU within 9-2, but it was as close as the Beavers would get.

After BSU reliever Kevin Morel (Shoreview, Minn.) retired the first two men he faced in the seventh, the next six Wildcat hitters reached safely and a Beaver fielding error helped extend a four-run rally as Wayne State pulled away, 13-2.

Chuck Erlandson (Moorhead, Minn.) was a workhorse for BSU, throwing 127 pitches in a six-inning start. He allowed nine runs (seven earned) on 11 hits with five strikeouts and four walks. Morel pitched the seventh, allowing four runs (one earned) on three hits and a pair of walks. He struck out one. Erlandson took the loss and fell to 0-6 on the season.

Josh Anderson held BSU to three hits, but walked five, in a five-inning start for the Wildcats. He struck out two and allowed one earned run to push his season mark to 5-1. Josh Snyder and Connor Bramlet pitched an inning in relief apiece for the visitors.

Klaers and Dan Wagner each went 2-for-3 for the Beavers, accounting for four of BSU’s six hits in the game.

Game 2 was a similar affair, with the Wildcats taking a 7-0 lead before the Beavers could get on the board. Ben Albury doubled home two with none out in the inning, and the Wildcats loaded the bases with one away. But BSU starter Josh Langlie (Thief River Falls, Minn.) pitched out of the jam without further damage, and Wayne led 2-0.

However, the Wildcats pushed their lead with a run in the second and blew the game open with a four-run third which featured a two-run home run by Chris Pedroza, an RBI bunt single and a fielding error by BSU catcher Klaers to push the visitor’s lead to 7-0.

BSU picked up its first run in the bottom of the third when Matt Asche (Cedar Falls, Iowa) drew a bases-loaded walk. The Wildcats answered with a run in the fourth, and BSU pulled within 8-3 on a two-run home run with none out in the fourth from Dan Wagner.

Wayne State answered with four runs in the fifth, including a three-run home run to dead center field by Bidroski, to put the game out of reach, 13-2. The inning deflated BSU, which was held without a hit over the game’s final three innings.

Langlie lasted just 2.1 innings in the start, coming on three days rest after he picked up a victory over North Dakota on Tuesday. He allowed five runs (five earned) on six hits with two walks. He struck out one, falling to 1-1 on the year. Casey Allar allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk in two-thirds of an inning in relief, and Morel pitched the game’s final four innings for the Beavers.

B.J. Wierzbicki picked up the victory for Wayne State, improving to 6-1 despite allowing four hits and five walks in five innings of work. He allowed all three BSU runs and struck out four. Jon Pitts and Mitch Herrick each worked a hitless inning of relief.

Dustin Jones was a force for the Wildcats, going 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, one RBI, a stolen base and three runs scored. For the double header he went 5-for-8 and scored five runs. Albury also picked up three hits for the Wildcats, going 3-for-5 with two RBI and scoring twice.

Bemidji State dropped to 4-24 overall after the sweep, 1-9 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play, while Wayne State improved its season mark to 26-8-1 and remained undefeated against the NSIC at 14-0. The sweep helped Wayne State extend its unbeaten streak to 18 consecutive games dating back to an 8-4 loss at Northwest Missouri State on March 17. Bemidji State is back in action Tuesday, April 19 with a two-game twinbill against St. Cloud State. First pitch for the non-conference double-header is slated for 1:30 p.m. Central time.

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