OWENSBORO, Ky. – The Kentucky Wesleyan College baseball team split the day but won the series over Southwest Baptist University on Saturday at Panther Park. The Bearcats won the opener 17-0 but the Panthers took game two 5-4 in 10 innings. Game time was moved up one hour and the extra daylight proved to benefit the Panthers, winning in walk-off fashion at sunset.
The Panthers lost the opener 17-0. The Bearcats scored five runs in the second and third inning to take a 10-0 lead. SBU held the Panthers to two hits.
Game two was a different story as the Panthers scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Wesleyan loaded the bases with one out and plated two runs on a fielder's choice and throwing error. The Bearcats answered with two runs in the top of the second, but Wesleyan bounced back again.
In the bottom of the third inning,
Logan Molnar walked to start the frame and
Rhett Dysholm followed with a single to place runners on the corners.
Baron Ratliff doubled down the left field line to score Molnar and
Colson Perry later brought Dysholm around, giving the Panthers a 4-2 lead.
Wesleyan held a 4-2 advnatage after six innings, but with two more runs in the top of the seventh inning the Bearcats had new life as they tied the game. After two quick innings the game reached the 10
th inning tied 4-4. The Bearcats loaded the bases in the top of the inning, but
David Castleberry kept them off the board.
As darkness began to encompass Panther Park, Ratliff walked to lead off the bottom of the 10
th and moved to second on
Jacob Riegel's sacrifice bunt. Perry struck out, but Ratlif moved to third on a wild pitch.
Tucker Hagan came to the plate, but another wild pitch allowed the winning run to cross the plate.
After the 8-1 win on Friday, the Panthers took two of three over the Bearcats. Ratliff was four for four with a double and RBI.
Cole Peaslee started and received a no-decision after 5.2 innings of work, allowing two runs on three hits with eight strikeouts. Castleberry earned the victory, his second of the season, after four innings of scoreless work. Castleberry game up one hit while striking-out five and walking three.
The Panthers will open a four-game series on Friday against Purdue Northwest. First pitch at Panther Park is scheduled for 12:00 PM.
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