PARKERSBURG, W. Va. – The Kentucky Wesleyan College baseball team opened Great Midwest Athletic Conference play on Sunday afternoon, beating Ohio Valley in game one, 7-4, before dropping game two, 10-4. With the split the Panthers move to 10-12 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
Game One: Kentucky Wesleyan 7 – Ohio Valley 4
The Panthers wasted no time getting on the board, plating two runs in the top of the first inning. Lane Kennemore singled with one out and was brought home by Adam Brown, who smashed his fourth home run of the season to left center field.
Ohio Valley responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the frame to take a one-run lead.
Two straight singles from Nathan Stemle and Cody Bridges put runners on the corners to start the third for Kentucky Wesleyan. Stemle scored on an error by the catcher attempting to throw out Bridges at second. With one out and two runners in scoring position, Brown grounded out but was able to bring home Bridges, putting the Panthers ahead by one.
Both defenses were unbreakable over the next four innings with the two teams combining for just three hits.
Kentucky Wesleyan opened the scoring back up again in the top of the eighth with Lane Kennemore coming home on a double from Brown. Andrew Kirkland hit his third home run of the season, a two-run shot to left center, to give the Panthers a four-run lead.
A lead-off homer in the bottom of the eighth for the Fighting Scots saw that lead shrink to three but Nate Verst dug in and retired the next three batters including two swinging strike outs. Ohio Valley drew a walk to lead off the bottom of the ninth but a strikeout and a double play allowed the Panthers to hold on for the 7-4 win.
Stemle finished game one two-for-three at the plate with one run scored. Brown led the Panthers with four runs driven in, going two-for-four and scoring two runs. Kennemore tabbed two hits while Bridges, Kirkland and Josh Galvan recorded one a piece.
Game Two: Kentucky Wesleyan 4 – Ohio Valley 10
After a scoreless first inning, the Panthers scored first with Seth Campbell drawing a bases-loaded walk to plate the first run of the game. Two innings later, Stemle singled to left center to score Cody Jackson and put Kentucky Wesleyan ahead 2-0.
The Fighting Scots tabbed five runs in the bottom of the fifth off of five hits and one error, taking a 5-2 lead with two innings remaining.
Kentucky Wesleyan cut the deficit to one with two runs in the top of the sixth. Jackson utilized a wild pitch to score from third, and Stemle drove in Campbell with a single up the middle.
Ohio Valley responded with five runs in the bottom of the sixth to extend its lead to six, tabbing three doubles and one triple to put the game out of reach for the Panthers.
Brown went three-for-four at the plate in game two while Jackson and Stemle both were two-for-three. Stemle led the Panthers with two runs batted in while Campbell drove in one.
The two teams will wrap up the conference series with a doubleheader beginning at 12 pm CT on Monday.
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