Baseball Opens GPAC Play with Four Home Run Game

CRETE, Neb. — The Doane baseball team opened GPAC play in emphatic fashion Friday afternoon, erupting for 16 runs in a 16–5 victory over Waldorf at the Doane Ballfield Complex.

The Tigers (14-4, 1-0 GPAC) scored in five different innings and blasted four home runs while piling up 14 hits to take the conference opener of the series.

Doane struck first in the opening inning when Max Harris delivered a two-out, two-run triple to right-center, scoring Carter Roth and Thaden Wewel for an early 2–0 lead.

The Tigers then broke the game open in the second inning with a six-run outburst. After a hit-by-pitch and a single put runners aboard, Carter Roth raced around the bases for a three-run inside-the-park home run to center field. Moments later, Grant Sommers followed with a solo shot to left-center to make it 6–0. Later in the inning, Jett Grossart capped the rally with a two-run single to right that pushed the lead to 8–0.

Doane continued to add on in the fourth inning when Sam Kwapnioski connected for a solo home run to right field.

The Tigers stretched the advantage further in the fifth inning. After aggressive baserunning put pressure on Waldorf, two runs scored on a wild pitch and Grossart plated two runs with a single. In the sixth inning, Adam Wilmore delivered a three-run home run to cap the scoring for Doane.

Grossart led the Tigers offensively, finishing 3-for-3 with four RBIs. Roth added two hits and three RBIs, while Sommers scored twice and homered. Kwapnioski and Wilmore also contributed home runs as part of Doane's long-ball barrage.

On the mound, Kaden Crawford earned the win with a strong outing, allowing just three hits and one run over five innings while striking out six. The Tigers' pitching staff held Waldorf to four hits on the day.

Waldorf (7-14, 0-1 GPAC) scored a run in the fourth on a solo home run by Cameren Rindone and added four late runs, but the early deficit proved too much to overcome.

Doane and Waldorf continue the GPAC series with the second game of the doubleheader Friday afternoon in Crete.

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