OWENSBORO, KY - The Kentucky Wesleyan Baseball Team avenged yesterday's losses by taking down Hillsdale 9-7 and 4-1 this afternoon.
Wesleyan improves to 10-13 (5-3 G-MAC), while Hillsdale falls to 8-14 (3-5 G-MAC).
Game One
It was a game of runs in the opener, as Kentucky Wesleyan started out with a big lead early. An RBI double from
Aric Lyons gave the Panthers the lead in the third inning. The fourth inning was where Wesleyan poured it on, as they broke open the game with five runs. Thanks to a
Jaret Humphrey hit-by-pitch and a
Nick Wimber single, Wesleyan had runners in scoring position with
Bryce Zupan up to bat. Zupan hit a single to left field to score Humphrey, putting Wesleyan up 2-0.
Noah Davis then hit a sacrifice fly to score Wimber, and
Brandon Valdez hit a 2 RBI double on the next at bat to extend Wesleyan's lead to five. Another
Aric Lyons double scored Valdez, and Wesleyan led 6-0 after four.
Hillsdale came back with a seven run fifth inning to give themselves the lead, but
Bryce Zupan hit his second RBI of the game in the bottom of the inning to even the score.
Aric Lyons and
Kyle Werries each hit RBI's in the bottom of the sixth to give Wesleyan the lead.
Cade Moore (1-1) came in to pitch the final 2.1 innings of the game and was lights out, as he didn't allow a hit and sealed the win for the Panthers.
Aric Lyons went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI's, while
Bryce Zupan went 2-for-2 with 2 RBI's and 2 runs scored.
Game Two
Isaac Rose (1-3) pitched his best game of the year, allowing just four hits and one run in seven innings of work to propel the Panthers to the 4-1 victory.
Kyle Werries opened the scoring in the first inning by rushing home on a wild pitch, giving Wesleyan the 1-0 early lead. In the second inning,
Brandon Valdez hit a huge 2 RBI triple, scoring
Cameron Langston and
Nick Wimber to extend the advantage to 3-0. Hillsdale pulled on back in the third inning, but another Valdez RBI scored
Noah Davis in the fifth inning to push the lead back to three.
Rose was scoreless over his final four innings pitched, while
David Castleberry (S, 1) came in and struck out four in two innings of work to get the save.
Brandon Valdez went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI's in the game, while
Nick Wimber was 2-for-3 with a run scored and a walk in the game.
Wesleyan will travel to North Canton, Ohio next week to take on the reigning G-MAC Tournament Champions Walsh University. The doubleheaders are set to take place on Saturday-Sunday April 1-2, with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m. CT both days.
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