V-Hawks' thrilling postseason run ends at NSAA tournament

FOREST CITY, Iowa - The Viterbo University Baseball team's postseason run has ended. The V-Hawks fell to No. 2-seeded Dakota State in Game 12 of the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) tournament. The V-Hawks beat Dakota State in the opening round before falling to Dickinson State in the double-elimination tournament. Viterbo bounced back yesterday against Valley City State to keep their championship hopes alive, but were dashed this morning. 

In the bottom of the third inning, the V-Hawks got the scoring going with a bases-loaded single from Blake Warner that scored two runners. The Trojans answered with an RBI single of their own in the top of the fourth inning before breaking the gates open in the fifth and sixth. V-Hawk starter Alec Danen held the Trojans to one run on three hits through four innings, but could not contain the Trojan bats any longer. Dakota State scored six runs on seven hits in the fifth and four runs on two hits in the sixth to take the 11-3 lead. The V-Hawks mustered up one more run on a Cody Wells home run in the seventh, but could not overcome the deficit, ending their season. 

Wells went 3-5 on the day with a home run, double, one RBI, and two runs scored. Blake Warner contributed two hits on four at bats with two RBIs. The V-Hawks end their season with a 16-36 overall record and finished in the top four at the conference tournament.