MASON, Ohio – After dropping their first game of the day against Malone 8-7, the Kentucky Wesleyan College baseball team bounced back on Thursday to edge Trevecca Nazarene 5-4 in an elimination game at the 2018 Great Midwest Athletic Conference tournament. The Panthers await the winner of Walsh vs. Findlay, whom they will face off at 12:30 pm CT on Friday.
Game One: Malone 8 – KWC 7
The Panthers pounced early, taking a 3-0 lead after the first inning. Andrew Kirkland drove in one before Ostin Clark dropped a two-run bomb to left field for his 12th home run of the season.
Malone responded with one run in four straight frames to take a 4-3 in the top of the seventh for their first lead of the game.
Back-to-back singles from Levi Tanner and Ben Wilcoxson put two on with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Cody Bridges drove in the game-tying run with a single to left field. Kennemore laid down a double in the left center gap to score two putting Wesleyan ahead by two. Joseph Burke capped off the five-hit inning with a single to center, scoring Kennemore and giving the Panthers a 7-4 lead.
The Pioneers answered back in the top of the eighth with five hits of their own to regain an 8-7 lead. The Panthers couldn't put a rally together in the final two innings, being sent to an elimination against Trevecca Nazarene.
Sammy Holder threw 7.1 innings, striking out two and allowing seven runs off of 10 hits. Nate Verst took his third loss of the season, pitching the final 1.2 innings and giving up one run off of three hits.
Game Two: KWC 5 – Trevecca 4
Burke got things started for the Panthers in the top of the first, driving in Bridges on a groundball. Wesleyan struck again in the top of the second with Bridges bringing home Ethan Maxey.
The Trojans knotted it up in the bottom of the second, stringing together three hits to even the game at two.
In the top of third, Kennemore led off with an infield single and scored via three wild pitches to give Wesleyan a 3-2 lead.
After a scoreless fourth inning the Trojans plated one run in the fifth to even the game once again at three.
With two outs in the sixth, Tanner was hit by a pitch and moved into scoring position on a passed ball. Wilcoxson laid down a single in center, allowing Tanner to score and giving Wesleyan a 4-3 lead.
The Panthers added a run in the top of the eighth thanks to a two-out RBI double from Kirkland. Trevecca made it a one-run game in the bottom of the ninth and put the game-winning run on first with two outs but the Panthers held on for the win.
Chris Johnson threw 4.0 innings, striking out six and allowing three runs off of five hits. Joey Lara earned his second win of the season, striking out four while holding the Trojans scoreless. Alex Franzen picked up his team-leading eighth save of the season, throwing 2.0 innings and striking out two.
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