MADISON, S.D. — Dickinson State erased a three-run deficit in the seventh inning to win the opener 7-6 before falling 12-4 in the second game of a Frontier Conference baseball doubleheader Saturday at Flynn Field. The split moved the Blue Hawks to 18-20 overall and 5-10 in conference play.
Game 1
Dickinson State closed the opener with its biggest swing of the day.
Trailing 6-3 entering the top of the seventh, the Blue Hawks put together a final rally against Dakota State after Ramon Teran opened the inning with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch. Ty Farwell was hit by a pitch and Wyatt Wilharm walked to load the bases. Moses Dokes then drove a 1-2 pitch over the fence in right-center for a go-ahead grand slam, turning a three-run deficit into a 7-6 Dickinson State lead.
The Blue Hawks had chipped away throughout the first game. Dokes tied the score at 1 in the second with a solo home run to left. Dickinson State added an unearned run in the fourth when Jaden Salazar reached on an error that allowed Logan Braaten to score. In the fifth, Jadyn Roberts doubled and later scored on Luis Rodriguez's sacrifice bunt to even the game at 3.
Dakota State answered several times and appeared in control heading to the final inning. George Hogan drove in the Trojans' first run with a first-inning single. Cameron Kittridge hit a two-run home run in the third for a 3-1 lead. Hogan opened the fifth with a solo homer, and Aidan Marsh added an RBI single later in the inning to make it 5-3. Camaron Haller pushed the lead to 6-3 with a solo home run in the sixth.
Dokes finished 2 for 4 with five RBIs and both Dickinson State home runs. Teran went 2 for 4 and scored once, Salazar had two hits, and Roberts doubled and scored twice. Rodriguez drove in a run with the sacrifice bunt.
On the mound, Mason Lunzman worked 5 1/3 innings and allowed five runs on nine hits with four strikeouts. Cooper Vanluchene earned the win after recording the final two outs of the sixth, though he allowed Haller's home run. Trent Chavez handled the seventh for his fourth save, striking out two in a scoreless inning.
The win gave Dickinson State a split through the first game of the day and set up a chance for a road series split in the nightcap.
Game 2
Dakota State took control early in the second game and Dickinson State could not climb back.
The Trojans scored four runs in the first inning on Connor Raney's leadoff home run and Cameron DeMaria's three-run home run. After Dickinson State answered with three runs in the second, Dakota State responded immediately with a four-run second inning, highlighted by George Hogan's four-run homer to right that extended the lead to 8-3.
Dickinson State's second-inning rally came with help from a Dakota State error. Jaden Salazar led off with a single, Michael Feralio reached on an error, and Jadyn Roberts drove in the Blue Hawks' first run with a double down the left-field line. Teran followed with a two-run single to center, cutting the margin to 4-3. All three runs in the inning were unearned.
That was as close as Dickinson State would get.
Dakota State added three more runs in the sixth. Raney reached on an error and later scored on another Dickinson State miscue after Aidan Perry's single. Haller followed with a two-run home run to right-center, extending the Trojans' lead to 11-3. Dakota State added one more run in the eighth on Cameron Kittridge's RBI single. Dickinson State scored its final run in the ninth when Luis Rodriguez doubled, moved to third on a groundout and scored on Wilharm's sacrifice fly.
Rodriguez led Dickinson State at the plate in the second game, going 3 for 5 with two doubles and a run scored. Teran was 2 for 5 with two RBIs. Farwell added a hit and a walk, Wilharm drove in a run, Dokes had one hit and one walk, and Roberts doubled and drove in one. The Blue Hawks finished with 10 hits but left 11 runners on base.
Patrick Dietz took the loss after allowing eight runs on eight hits over three innings. Mason Manning covered the final five innings and allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits while striking out four. Dickinson State committed three errors in the game, while Dakota State was charged with two. The Trojans hit four home runs in the nightcap and finished with 15 hits.
For the day, Dokes supplied the decisive blow with the grand slam in the opener, while Rodriguez and Teran helped pace the offense across both games. Dickinson State left Madison with a split after winning the first game late and then trying to recover from an early deficit in the second.
