NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Kentucky Wesleyan baseball team began the 2026 campaign with a 7-6 victory over former Great Midwest foe Trevecca Nazarene Friday afternoon.
Preseason NBCWA Second Team All-American Evan Oakley got the season underway with a three-up, three-down bottom of the first after the Panthers (1-0, 0-0 G-MAC) went away quietly in the top half.
The second also went scoreless before Wesleyan opened the scoring in the top of the third. Tucker Hagan recorded an infield single, Elijah Stockton followed with a single of his own, and Jacob Riegel laid down a sac bunt to put runners on second and third with one out. Liam Hutson put the ball in play to allow Hagan to score, putting the Panthers up 1-0.
Wesleyan added another in the fourth. Baron Ratliff worked a walk and Michael Chaney followed with a double to increase the Panthers' advantage to 2-0.
Oakley went unscathed until the bottom of the fifth. The Trojans used a leadoff hit-by-pitch to turn the tide on their way to scoring three runs. Josh Tucker came on to close the inning, but Trevecca Nazarene (1-3, 0-0 GSC) took a 3-2 lead into the final four frames.
That lead didn't hold for long. Rhett Dysholm launched the first Wesleyan home run of the season over the right field wall to tie the game at 3-3.
The game would stay tied headed into the ninth inning as Tucker continued to do strong work out of the bullpen.
The Panthers were finally able to break the dam in the top half of the final inning. After Hagan reached on a fielder's choice, Stockton singled again to put runners at the corners. Stockton stole second before Riegel singled to third base to score Hagan and give the Panthers a 4-3 advantage.
Both Stockton and Riegel advanced on a wild pitch to place runners on second and third with just one out. Molnar broke the game open with a two-RBI single that gave Wesleyan some breathing room at 6-3. Molnar would later score on an error to put KWC up four at 7-3 headed into the bottom half.
Things got interesting in the bottom of the ninth, but Tucker was able to get just enough outs to solidify the 7-6 triumph.
Stockton reached base four times in the game with two hits and two walks. Chaney's double and Dysholm's home run were the only two extra-base hits for the Panthers.
KWC plays two more against the Trojans tomorrow. First pitch will be at 12:00 PM and fans can watch live on FloCollege.
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