HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Kentucky Wesleyan College baseball team dropped a slug fest in game two, of three game set with Lincoln Memorial on Saturday. The Panthers lost 10-9 to LMU in the day's opener before taking a 10-1 loss in the series finale.
Newcomer Kyler Richardson connected on two homeruns in the opener, the first being a three-run blast in the top of the second inning. Both
Hunter Combs and Jaret Humphery walked to start the inning before Richardson's big blast.
Miscues allowed the bottom half of the inning to stay alive as the Railsplitters (4-2) got two runs back. The Panthers (0-3) answered right back with two more runs in the top of the third.
Hunter Combs hit a solo shot with one-out in the frame while Richardson hit his second homerun out of the deepest part of the park with two-outs.
The 5-2 lead was short lived as more miscues kept the bottom half of the third open for LMU to add two more runs. They ended up tying the game with a run in the bottom of the fifth.
The Railsplitters returned the favor in the top of the fifth as wild pitches allowed the Panthers to score twice and take a 7-5 lead. A three-run homerun in the bottom half flipped the script as LMU held its first lead of the game, 8-7 after five.
Ben Wilcoxson sparked the Panthers in the top of the sixth with a one-out double. After a walk by
Sammy Rowan,
Robert Chayka tied the game with an RBI single into left.
Kyle Werries later brought Rowan in with a sacrifice fly.
However, two, two-out runs in the bottom of the seventh was enough for LMU to escape with a one-run win. Richardson was three for four with two homeruns and four RBIs. Wilcoxson was two for five with a double.
In the finale,
Austin Baugh pitched four strong innings, but was chase in the top of the fifth. The Panthers trailed 2-0 heading into the fifth, but cut the deficit in half as Wilcoxson scored on
Braxton French's one-out RBI single.
In the bottom half, an error prolonged the inning, allowing the Railsplitters to score eight runs. French finished the game two for four with the lone RBI.
The Panthers will continue their long road trip to start the season with a trip to Montevallo, Alabama next weekend. A three-game series against the University of Montevallo with begin on Friday at 2 PM CT.
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