Blue Hawks sweep VCSU on Friday, take series 3-1

Sagan Osborne | Dickinson State Sports Information Director

TUCSON, Ariz. – Keanu Calamayan and Wyatt Wilharm each picked up their first home runs as Blue Hawks as Dickinson State swept Valley City State, 11-3 and 9-3, to earn the 3-1 series win in the first NSAA series of the year.

GAME 1

Blue Hawk starter Trent Richter went 6.0 innings allowing just one unearned run on four hits while striking out six and walking just one VCSU batter, and Dawson Cortese went a career best 5-5, as the Blue Hawks cruised to an 11-3 win in game one.

Neither team could get much going offensively until the bottom of the third inning, when Calamayan hit a blast just over the left field foul pole for a two-run home run to give DSU a 2-0 lead. Alberto Nieto had reached on an error a batter before to kick off the inning.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Blue Hawks extended their lead. Calamayan got things started with a walk and Cortese added a one-out single to left to put two runners on for Derrick Calvillo. Calvillo followed with an RBI triple just out of the reach of the VCSU right fielder to score both runs and a sacrifice fly by Richie Cortese one pitch later made it 5-0 DSU.

A sacrifice fly by the Vikings cut the DSU lead to 5-1, but Dickinson State pushed across three more runs in the bottom half of the sixth, scoring on a passed ball and a Dawson Cortese two-run double to make it 8-1.

The offense didn't stop there, as Nieto, Calamayan, and Balas Buckmaster all drove in runs over the last two innings for the final Blue Hawk RBI.

Brannan Hogan picked up the rare nine-out save for DSU, going 3.0 innings and allowing 2 run (1 earned) on one hit while matching Richter with 6 strikeouts and 1 walk.

GAME 2

For the second straight game, Dickinson State got a great performance from their starter, as Kobe Krenz worked around some self-imposed jams to go 5.0 scoreless innings allowing 5 hits, while striking out four, and walking two. Three hit batters created some extra traffic on the bases, but Krenz was able to work around every VCSU threat.

Dickinson State was able to take a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a Viking error, and some aggressive baserunning, as two runners scored on an infield error. A sacrifice fly by Buckmaster in the third inning made it 3-0 DSU.

The Blue Hawks chipped in one more run in the fourth, on a Dawson Cortese RBI-single, and three more in the fifth, thanks to Wilharm's first career home run and a run scoring passed ball, before scoring their last two runs in the sixth on an RBI fielder's choice and an error. The Vikings pushed across 3 runs in the final frame before Gabe Lundbeck closed the door for the 9-3 victory.

With the win, the Blue Hawks sit in first place in the NSAA as no other series have been played yet. DSU will continue NSAA play with a series against Viterbo University, scheduled to be played in Dickinson, but may be moved due to unplayable field conditions.