OWENSBORO, Ky. – The Kentucky Wesleyan baseball team has punched its ticket to the Great Midwest Baseball Championship Tournament for the 12th consecutive season.
The No. 4-seeded Panthers will open play against the No. 5-seeded Cedarville Yellow Jackets this Wednesday, May 6th, at 3:30 PM at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio. Fans can watch live on FloCollege or follow live stats here.
Wesleyan (26-22, 16-14 G-MAC) finished second in the G-MAC South Division to earn the four seed. KWC will have to fight through Pool B for a chance to compete for the title against the winner of Pool A. To view the full bracket and other details, click here.
At the plate this season, the Panthers were led by Liam Hutson, the reigning Kentucky Wesleyan Athlete of the Year. Hutson hit .306 with 10 doubles, one triple, 12 home runs (third in the G-MAC), 44 RBIs, and 34 walks on top of a 1.011 OPS.
The Panthers as a team finished tied for first in home runs in the Great Midwest this season with 46. Others with home runs this season for Wesleyan include Jacob Riegel (8), Baron Ratliff (6), Luke Renfrow (6), Rhett Dysholm (5), Tucker Hagan (2), Ellis Hurt (2), Elijah Stockton (2), Michael Chaney (2), and Davin Yates (1).
On the mound, KWC was powered by a strong starting duo of Evan Oakley and Ethan Ell. Oakley, the G-MAC Pitcher of the Year last season, posted a 4.17 ERA (8th in the G-MAC) with 81 strikeouts (2nd in the G-MAC) and a 5-3 record across a conference high 77.2 innings. Ell wasn't far behind with a 4.45 ERA (10th in the G-MAC) and 78 strikeouts in 64.2 innings. Ell's strikeout tally was tied for third in the G-MAC with another Panther, Cole Peaslee.
David Castleberry was the primary Wesleyan reliever this year, posting a 4.58 ERA and 31 strikeouts with six saves (T-2nd in the G-MAC) across 19.2 innings pitched. Weston Miller, although across a limited sample size of just 6.2 innings, impressed with a 1.35 ERA and six strikeouts.
About Cedarville (23-25, 17-15 G-MAC)
The Yellow Jackets finished just .002 percentage points behind the Panthers in the South Division with their 17-15 conference record. The two teams battled in early April and split a four-game set in Owensboro.
Eli Henderson put together a top-notch season for Cedarville to lead the way at the plate. Henderson hit .428 with 12 doubles, three triples, three home runs, 33 RBIs, and 20 walks to add to a 1.085 OPS.
The Yellow Jackets struggled to find a consistent rotation throughout the year and had just one starter, Jensen Wagoner, reach the minimum number of innings pitched to statistically qualify. Wagoner posted a 4.14 ERA and a 5-5 record with 59 strikeouts.
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