CANTON, OH - The Panthers got off on the right foot on Sunday, as they completed their series sweep of Malone by winning 5-3 and 11-4. This is Wesleyan's first 4-0 start in conference play since they swept Ohio Valley back in 2021.
With the win, the Panthers improve to 5-15 (4-0 G-MAC), while Malone falls to 3-14 (0-4 G-MAC).
Game One
The first game of the day saw Wesleyan come back to win it late.
Down 3-2 in the top of the seventh,
Noah Davis got things going with a double to right field. Following two outs and an intentional walk to
Braxton French,
TJ Williams worked a walk to load the bases.
Braden Vinyard came up clutch on the next at bat, singling to centerfield to score Davis and French, giving the Panthers a 4-3 lead.
Braden Mundy, who had come in to pinch run for Williams, scored on a wild pitch to give the game it's final score.
Isaac Rose shut down the Pioneers 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning to seal the big win.
There was a reason
Braxton French was intentionally walked in that final inning, as he was 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored in the game.
Starter
Seth Wright struck out eight batters in five innings of work, while
Isaac Rose (1-1) didn't allow a hit in the final two innings of play to get the win.
Game Two
Just like the first game, the Panthers had to come back in this one. They opened up with a 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks to an RBI double off the bat of
Kyle Werries. Malone answered in the third and fourth innings, scoring four runs and taking a 4-1 lead into the sixth.
Wesleyan erupted for 10 runs over the final four innings, scoring five in the sixth and five in the eighth.
Hunter Hyden got things going with a massive 2 RBI triple to score
Braxton French and
Tate VanHooser. Malone made a pitching change, but that didn't matter, as
Braden Vinyard hit an RBI single on the next at bat to score Hyden and tie the game at 4-4. Two more runs from Vinyard and
Owen Stevenson put Wesleyan up 6-4 after six.
Cade Moore opened the eighth inning scoring frenzy with an RBI single to score Stevenson. Following a Moore steal and a
Noah Davis walk,
Kyle Werries hit a sac fly to score
Cade Gudalis. VanHooser then notched an RBI, and Davis scored on a wild pitch. Vinyard hit an RBI double to score Wesleyan's final run of the game.
Noah Davis,
Hunter Hyden,
Braden Vinyard, and
Owen Stevenson all notched two hits in the game, while
Kyle Werries, Hyden and Vinyard each tallied two RBI's.
Brayden Bush (1-2) struck out five in the win.
The Panthers host the Northwood Timberwolves next weekend at Panther Park in their G-MAC home opener. The games are scheduled for a noon start on both Saturday and Sunday. Northwood started off the year slow, but are coming off a sweep of Cedarville to open G-MAC play.
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