Kenosha, Wis - After winning the first game of the series, the Parkside Rangers suffered defeat in both games against the Wayne State Warriors on Saturday. Wayne State began the day with a dominating 16-3 victory in the first game, and followed up with a 17-8 win afterwards.
GAME ONE
In the first game of the double header, the Rangers handed the ball to Kaleb Schulist for his fifth start of the season. Schulist dealt a clean first two innings of work, facing just seven batters and he had a strikeout under his belt. However, the third inning is where things began to fall apart, as he allowed five runs on four hits. The Warriors jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the seven inning ball game.
However, the Rangers were not planning on going out without a fight. Jude Allen and Joe Hoeks began the inning with back-to-back one out base hits. The next hitter was Peter Fusek, who got a hold of a baseball and sent it over the left field fence. Fusek's three-run shot brought Parkside within two runs. It was his third home run of the season and the energy felt as if it was shifting back for the Rangers.
Despite the big home run, Parkside was unable to contain the Warriors' offense. The Warriors tagged one more run in the fourth, and then a massive six run fifth inning ended up being the dagger in game one. The Rangers were only able to gather six hits, and the team only drew one walk in the game.
GAME TWO
Game two went similarly in terms of the offensive production from the Wayne State Warriors. They rode the momentum of a blowout game one victory, and made another early statement. They scored a run in the first inning, six runs in the second, and another two in the third. The Warriors were out to a 9-0 lead in the blink of an eye.
In the third inning, the Rangers had a response. Koto Sato got a start in game two and made the most of it. Sato smoked a solo home run over the left field fence to get the Rangers on the board. It was Sato's fourth long ball of the 2024 campaign.
Later in the inning, John St. Clair drove in Zach Alburg with an RBI groundout. Alburg finished with a career-high three hits in the game. Parkside notched a pair of runs in the inning and trailed 9-2 after three innings of baseball.
Donovan Dykas, who got the start in game two, proceeded to deal three scoreless innings and completed six innings. He allowed Parkside the opportunity to get back into the game. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Jude Allen drove home another Parkside run on a sacrifice-fly, scoring Carter Storti. A few batters later, Jared Heinzen clubbed a two-run home run over the left-center field fence. Heinzen's second round-tripper of the season brought Parkside within four runs, and it was a 9-5 game.
After three scoreless innings, Wayne State scored again in the seventh inning. They dropped five in the inning and then another three runs in the eighth. They led 17-5 going into the bottom of the eighth inning. In the home half of the eighth, Emanuel Andujar Ferreira absolutely crushed his second home run of the season. He smoked it over the right field fence and made the score 17-7 Wayne State.
In the ninth, Parkside added another run of the board. Freshman Andrew Mack ripped his first collegiate home run of his career. He got a hold of a fastball up high and gave it a ride over the left field fence.
Parkside lost both games and now stands at 15-17 overall and 4-10 in GLIAC play. They can split the series with a win tomorrow in the series finale against Wayne State.
NEXT
Parkside and Wayne State will complete the four game games series tomorrow at 1:00 pm (CT). They will return to the College of Lake County in Grayslake, Illinois for the series finale. For coverage of the event, visit ParksideRangers.com/coverage.
