Owensboro, Ky. – The Kentucky Wesleyan college baseball team split a Tuesday afternoon doubleheader against the McKendree Bearcats at Panther Park.

Game 1 did not go the Panthers way from the outset. McKendree tallied two runs in the first inning and never looked back, adding one run in the second, one in the third, three in the fifth, and five in the ninth to build a 12-0 lead going into the final frame.

Wesleyan's bats showed some life in their final turn at the plate. Elijah Stockton walked, Logan Molnar was hit by a pitch, and Liam Hutson also walked to load the bases with no outs. After the Bearcats went to the pen, the Panthers scored their first run on a ground ball double play. Reece Davis followed with a two-run home run, his eighth of the season, to give Wesleyan a bit of momentum headed into Game 2.

After a 1-2-3 inning by Jacob Dilday in the top of the first, the Panthers used that momentum in the bottom half. Liam Hutson led off with a triple before Davis drove him in with a single, putting Wesleyan on top 1-0.

McKendree tied the game in the top of the second, but the Panthers would later steal the lead back in the bottom of the fourth. Jase Mizell doubled to begin the frame, Rhett Dysholm worked a walk, and Cade Gudalis worked his own walk to load the bases with no outs. A wild pitch allowed all baserunners to move up a base, pushing Mizell across home plate. Then, with an out in between, Stockton singled to left field to drive in both Dysholm and Gudalis and increase the Wesleyan advantage to 4-1. Hutson topped the inning off with an RBI single of his own, stretching the lead to 5-1.

The Bearcats didn't let that rough inning affect their effort, scoring four runs themselves in the very next half inning to tie the game at 5-5. Chase Harlan did a strong job limiting the damage out of the pen for the Panthers.

Fortunately, with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Gudalis launched his second home run of the 2025 campaign to break the tie and put Wesleyan up 6-5.

Ethan Ell got the sixth for Wesleyan and worked around a walk and a single to post a zero, with a Mizell outfield assist coming up huge for the home team.

The Panthers tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. Molnar was hit again and advanced to second on a wild pitch before later scoring on a Colson Perry sacrifice fly, doubling the advantage to 7-5.

David Castleberry came on for the save attempt and shut the door with two strikeouts and a groundout, pushing Wesleyan back to .500 at 20-20 this season.

The Panthers remain home for their final home series of the season this weekend vs. Walsh. Saturday's doubleheader is set to begin at 12:00 PM, with the number one spot in the G-MAC South Division up for grabs between the two programs.

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