Sagan Osborne – Dickinson State Sports and Marketing Information Director
Dickinson, N.D. – Dickinson State opened its home doubleheader against Dakota State with a walk-off 3-2 victory Friday at DCB&T Ballpark before falling 19-3 in the second contest.
In the opener, Jacob Scully tossed a complete game and John-Michael Gonzalez Jr. delivered a game-tying home run to help the Blue Hawks rally late for the win. The senior right-hander improved to 5-4 on the season after allowing six hits, two earned runs, no walks, and striking out nine over seven innings. Scully faced 28 batters on 96 pitches.
Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the sixth, Jace Buchanan led off the inning with a single and came around to score when Gonzalez lifted a two-run homer to left field to tie the game. Dickinson State completed the comeback an inning later. Logan Braaten singled to center and was lifted for pinch runner Nathaniel Jilek. After a strikeout, Cameron Erickson singled to center to move Jilek to second. With two outs, Buchanan delivered his second hit of the game—a walk-off RBI single to left—scoring Jilek and giving the Blue Hawks a series-opening win.
Dickinson State totaled eight hits in the contest. Buchanan and Gonzalez each finished with two hits and combined for all three RBIs. Erickson also collected a pair of hits, while Braaten and Ty Farwell each added one. The Blue Hawks were active on the bases, recording four stolen bags, including two from Sawyer Bryner.
Dakota State opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the first and added a solo home run in the sixth, but Scully held the visitors scoreless in five of seven innings to secure the win. The defense backed him with error-free play.
Game two featured a drastically different tone, as Dakota State exploded for 17 hits and took advantage of four Dickinson State errors to post a 19-3 win and earn the split.
The visitors scored in five consecutive innings from the second through the sixth, including a five-run fourth and six-run sixth. Dickinson State used four pitchers in the game, with starter Cooper Van Luchene taking the loss after allowing nine runs—five earned—on 10 hits over 3.1 innings. Noah Aliff, Logan Smith, and Rogelio Gonzalez worked the remainder of the game.
Offensively, Dickinson State was held scoreless until the fourth inning, when Gonzalez Jr. drove in Wyatt Wilharm with a double to center. Luis Rodriguez followed with an RBI double of his own, scoring Gonzalez. Ethan Bess added a solo home run to center field in the seventh to close the scoring.
The Blue Hawks finished with eight hits in the loss. Gonzalez and Rodriguez each went 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Wilharm, Braaten, Bess, and Kadin Finders contributed one hit apiece.
Despite the outcome, Dickinson State's bullpen held the visitors scoreless over the final 1.1 innings, with Gonzalez retiring all four batters he faced, including three via strikeout.
With the split, Dickinson State moved to 12-23 overall and 4-6 in North Star Athletic Association play.