ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Kentucky Wesleyan College baseball team went toe-to-toe with Maryville University and pulled out a 9-5 victory in 13 innings before being edged 2-1 in game two. With the split, the Panthers move to 7-10 on the season.
Game One: Kentucky Wesleyan 9 – Maryville 5 (13 innings)
A pair of homers in the first two innings put the Panthers ahead 4-1. With two outs and one on, Adam Brown blasted the ball over the left field fence for his second home run of the season. Levi Tanner led off the second with a single and was driven in by Andrew Kirkland's second home run of the season.
A tight defensive battle saw only four hits over the next five innings. The Saints took a one run lead after the seventh inning, scoring one in the sixth and three more in the seventh.
Jacob Snodgrass led off the eighth with a hit by pitch and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Josh Galvan. Pinch hitter Tyler Walsh came in and knocked a single to center field, bringing home Snodgrass and tying the game at five.
Kentucky Wesleyan tabbed three hits in the top of the 12th but was unable to score a run. The Panthers kept that momentum going in the 13th, scoring four runs off of four hits. Three straight singles from Tanner, Jake Carter and Seth Campbell put Kentucky Wesleyan ahead 8-5. With the bases loaded Campbell drove in two, and Cody Bridges capped off the inning with a RBI double to left field.
Maryville threatened with a lead off single in the bottom of the 13th but Alex Franzen forced the next batter to ground into a double play to clear the bases.
Kirkland led the Panthers with three hits while Tanner and Bridges each tabbed two. Nathan Stemle, Snodgrass, Brown, Burke, Walsh, Carter and Campbell recorded one hit each. Brown, Kirkland and Campbell drove in two runs apiece.
Ryan Hundley pitched six innings, striking out six and allowed two runs. Sammy Holder picked up his second win of the season, pitching 5.2 innings and striking out two and holding the Saints to three hits.
Game Two: Kentucky Wesleyan 1 – Maryville 2
Both offenses were silenced in game two with the two teams combining for 11 hits. Maryville got on the board first with one run in the bottom of the first. The 1-0 lead would hold until the sixth inning when the Panthers knotted it up.
Back-to-back singles put two on with no outs when Galvan laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. Stemle took advantage of a wild pitch to tie it up at one.
The Panthers loaded the bases in the top of seventh but a fielder's choice and a double play would eliminate the scoring chances. Marvyille tabbed two singles in the bottom of the seventh to take the 2-1 walk-off win.
Stemle, Snodgrass, Galvan, Jackson and Campbell each recorded one hit in game two. Zach Burton suffered his second loss of the season after striking out three and allowing two runs off of six hits.
The Panthers will be back in action on March 25-26 as they take on Oakland City in a home-and-home series. The two teams will square off in Oakland City on March 25 at noon before returning to Owensboro on March 26, also at noon.
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