ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Kentucky Wesleyan baseball team saw their season come to a close at the NCAA Midwest Regional on Friday afternoon. The Panthers fell 7-6 in a hard-fought battle versus Missouri S&T.
Wesleyan finishes the 2026 season at 30-24 overall and as winners of the Great Midwest Tournament for the first time since 2017.
Starter Evan Oakley put together two scoreless innings to begin his day, tallying one strikeout in each frame. The Miners played some small ball in the top of the third, using a walk and a hit and run to generate the game's first run on the scoreboard.
Wesleyan immediately responded in the bottom half. Elijah Stockton was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and Liam Hutson followed with a walk to put two on with no outs. Jacob Riegel followed with a perfect sacrifice bunt to move both runners over before a wild pitch allowed Stockton to cross the plate and tie the game at 1-1.
S&T again put a small ball run together in the top of the fourth to take a 2-1 lead, but the Panthers again had the perfect response later in the bottom of the fifth. Stockton logged a leadoff single to set up Hutson at the top of the order. The center field rocketed the first pitch he saw over the right field wall for a no-doubt home run, his 13th of the campaign, to put KWC up 3-2 going into the final four frames.
The Miners tied the game on the first pitch of the top of the sixth with a solo shot before using two singles, two walks, and an error to add three more runs in the inning. Jacob Dilday came on to secure the final two outs of the frame and went on to pitch a scoreless seventh to keep Wesleyan within reach.
The Panthers made a dent in their deficit in the bottom of the seventh. Stockton worked a walk to force a pitching change for the Miners with one out as Hutson returned to the plate. The sophomore met the new arm with a double over the center fielder's head that drove in Stockton and pulled KWC within two at 6-4.
Wesleyan wasn't done in the frame. Baron Ratliff walked and advanced on a wild pitch to put two runners in scoring position with two outs before Rhett Dysholm ripped a two-RBI single to plate both runners and tie the game at 6-6.
The Miners used a hit by pitch and a triple to push across the eventual winning run in the top of the eighth. KWC threatened in the bottom of the ninth after Hutson led off with a single and Riegel moved him over with another sacrifice bunt, but the Panthers couldn't scratch the tying run across.
Hutson had a massive day with three hits, three RBIs, two runs scored, and a walk. Both Hurt and Molnar tallied two hits, and Stockton reached base three times and scored three runs.
David Castleberry added one more shutout inning to his terrific season with two strikeouts in the top of the ninth.
Visit kwcpanthers.com/give today to make a gift to Kentucky Wesleyan Athletics! Gifts can be directed to general athletics, our athletic endowment, or any of our 14 NCAA Division II programs.
Stay up to date on all your Panther news by following @KWCPanthers on X and Instagram and by liking the "Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics" Facebook page. Also, the Panthers Mobile App is available on iTunes and Android featuring real-time news alerts, schedules, exclusive multimedia content, gameday details, and more.
