Baseball Survives Late Dordt Rally to Take Game One

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa — Doane built an early lead and added insurance late as the Tigers defeated Dordt, 8-5, in game one of Friday's GPAC doubleheader at Open Space Park.

The Tigers improved to 36-8 overall and 21-4 in conference play, while Dordt fell to 20-27 overall and 10-17 in the GPAC.

Doane struck first in the second inning. Tanner Nelson opened the frame with a walk and Thaden Wewel came on to courtesy runner. Johnny Vulcano followed with a single, and Brayden Jones drove in Wewel with a single to left field. Max Harris later added a sacrifice fly to score Vulcano and give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.

Doane maintained that advantage behind starter Kaden Crawford, who kept Dordt scoreless through five innings. The Tigers added two more runs in the sixth as Nelson doubled and Brycen Morrison came in to run. Vulcano singled to left to score Morrison, and Harris followed later in the inning with an RBI single to bring home Vulcano for a 4-0 lead.

Dordt answered with two runs in the bottom of the sixth on a two-run double by Jarett Herz, but Doane responded with four runs in the seventh. Sam Kwapnioski singled and scored on a Jett Grossart fielder's choice. Vulcano singled again, and a Dordt error allowed Grossart and Vulcano to score. Jordan Bond capped the inning with an RBI single to score Jones and push Doane's lead to 8-2.

The Defenders made one final push in the bottom of the seventh, scoring three runs on a Drew Oreskes home run, but Ethan Merk entered and recorded the final out to earn the save.

Vulcano led the Tiger offense, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and one RBI. Nelson finished 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, while Harris drove in two runs. Roth added a double, and Jones and Bond each collected an RBI.

Crawford earned the win on the mound, improving to 8-2. He allowed two runs on five hits over 6.0 innings, striking out five and walking two. Merk picked up his fourth save of the season.

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