Three Home Runs Lift Baseball to Non-Conference Win

CRETE, Neb. – Doane Tigers baseball erupted offensively early and never looked back, defeating Peru State Bobcats baseball 13-2 on Tuesday afternoon at the Doane Ballfield Complex.

Doane improved to 23-7 on the season with the non-conference victory, using a dominant first three innings to take control of the contest.

The Tigers wasted no time getting on the board in the bottom of the first inning. Carter Roth singled and stole second before Grant Sommers delivered an inside-the-park two-run home run to center field, giving Doane a quick 2-0 advantage.

Doane broke the game open in the second inning with a seven-run outburst. Thaden Wewel worked a leadoff walk and later scored on a two-run home run from Adam Wilmore. The Tigers continued to apply pressure as Adam Vulcano doubled, Caden Driessen added an RBI single, and Roth followed with another run-scoring hit. After advancing on the bases, Roth scored on a sacrifice fly by Max Harris before Jordan Bond capped the inning with a two-run home run to right field, extending the lead to 9-0.

The Tigers added to their lead in the third inning. After reaching on an error, Brycen Morrison scored on an RBI single from Sommers. Max Harris followed with an RBI single of his own, and Bond delivered again with an RBI double to push the advantage to 12-0.

Doane tacked on its final run in the sixth inning when Wewel doubled and moved to third on an error before Wilmore brought him home with an RBI single, making it 13-1.

On the mound, Austin Oelke set the tone for the Tigers, tossing three scoreless innings while allowing just two hits and striking out three to earn the win. The bullpen combination of Cade Bridges, Broc Songster, Carter Baete, and Carter Navin limited Peru State to two runs across the final four innings.

Peru State broke through in the fifth inning on an RBI groundout and added another run in the seventh on an RBI single, but the early deficit proved too much to overcome.

Offensively, Doane finished with 13 hits, highlighted by multi-hit performances from Sommers, Bond, Wilmore, and Roth. Sommers led the way with three RBIs, while Bond and Wilmore each drove in three runs as well.

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