LINCOLN, Neb. (5/2/2026) — Nebraska Wesleyan baseball honored 11 seniors in a pregame ceremony and then went out and competed until the final out, but Central College held on for a 5-2 victory on Saturday afternoon at Championship Stadium to close out the Prairie Wolves' 2026 season. NWU finishes the year at 13-27 (8-16 A-R-C), while Central moves to 17-21 (12-12 A-R-C).
HOW IT HAPPENED
With the regular season finale doubling as a celebration of the program's senior class, the Prairie Wolves leaned on junior Trevor Storer in the start as they set out to send the 11 honorees out on a win. Central had other ideas from the jump, putting together a three-run first inning fueled by a Bryer Wiley two-run home run to left-center and a Max Steinlage RBI groundout to take an early 3-0 lead.
Nebraska Wesleyan answered in the second when Jake Shedarowich and Brady Bell strung together back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners, and Rudy Gres IV brought one home with a sacrifice fly to center to pull NWU within 3-1. The Prairie Wolves kept the deficit manageable through the middle innings, but Central added a run in the fifth on a Steinlage solo shot to right-center to push it to 4-1.
NWU responded right away in the bottom of the fifth when Jaxon Volkmer tripled to right-center and Sam Schaefer brought him home with a single to left to make it 4-2, but the Dutch shut the door from there, adding a ninth-inning insurance run on a Jackson Torbit triple and Stephen Stufflebeam sacrifice fly to account for the final margin.
Knowing it was the last game of the season, the Prairie Wolves went to their bullpen early and often, cycling through eight relievers behind Storer. Jack Starr, Ryan Johnson, Drew Styskal, Caleb DeWitt, Dominic Sis, Charlie Mosser, Tyler Spreitzer, and eventually Brady Bell all took the ball, with each throwing one clean inning. Spreitzer made his 18th appearance of the season, moving into a tie for second in program history for appearances in a single season. He closed out his career year with a 2.10 ERA and 25 strikeouts, both personal bests.
Offensively, Schaefer led NWU with a 3-for-5 afternoon and an RBI, while Bell finished 3-for-4 and Shedarowich went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Volkmer's triple was one of the more electric moments of the afternoon, and Ortega reached base and drew a walk in what would be a quietly historic outing as his one assist on the day pushed him to 108 on the season, setting a new single-season assists record for Nebraska Wesleyan shortstops.
On the other side, Central's Brayden Sawyer was sharp in the start, going six innings and allowing just two runs on eight hits while striking out five to earn the win.
UP NEXT
This concludes NWU's 2026 season.
