In day one of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference tournament, the Kentucky Wesleyan College baseball remained unbeaten with a pair of wins. The Panthers were victorious in extra innings during a pitcher’s duel in game one, defeating Alderson Broaddus 3-2. The bats woke up in game two, pounding out 12 hits and beating Ohio Valley 10-6.
Due to bad weather in the forecast, no games are scheduled for Thursday, May 11. The Panthers will return to action on Friday, May 12 against the No. 1 seed Trevecca Nazarene with first pitch set for 11 am CT. The Panthers have not faced the Trojans yet this season as the weekend series was cancelled due to weather.
Game One: Alderson Broaddus 2 – Kentucky Wesleyan 3 (10 innings) The Panthers found themselves in a 2-0 deficit entering the bottom of the fourth inning but scored two runs over the next two innings to even things up. Cody Bridges tabbed the first hit for the Panthers, leading off the bottom of the fourth with a double down the left field line. Two straight groundouts allowed Bridges to score, cutting the deficit to one.
Facing bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Nathan Stemle knocked a single through the right side, scoring Andrew Kirkland and knotting the game at two.
A tight defensive game saw only four base runners for both teams in the final four innings. Neither team was able to plate a run, sending the game to extras.
The Battlers threatened in the top of the 10 th , putting a running in scoring position right away after the lead-off batter was hit by a pitch and reached second on a sacrifice bunt. Alex Franzen entered the game and tabbed two strikeouts to strand the runner on second.
Stemle ripped a double to right center with one out in the bottom of the 10 th . Bridges dug in and sent the ball to centerfield, bringing home Stemle and giving the Panthers a 3-2 win in walk-off fashion.
Kentucky Wesleyan was held to just five hits with Bridges and Stemle tabbing two and Jacob Snodgrass recording one.
Ryan Hundley pitched a strong 9.1 innings, holding the Battlers to two runs off of seven hits while striking out eight.
Game Two: Kentucky Wesleyan 10 – Ohio Valley 6 The Panthers offense woke up in game two, plating 10 runs off of 12 hits. Kentucky Wesleyan jumped out to a 5-0 lead after three innings after opening the game up with four runs in the second.
Levi Tanner stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. A single and an error by the centerfielder allowed two runs to score for Kentucky Wesleyan. Stemle kept things going with a single of his own, bringing home Joseph Burke. Seth Campbell drove in the fourth run, capping off four straight singles in the top of the second.
Kentucky Wesleyan’s lead was extended to 5-0 in the top of the third with Burke driving in Kirkland with a double down the left field line.
The Panthers quickly saw their five run lead disappear in the bottom of the fourth with the Fighting Scots tabbing five hits to even the game at five. In the top of the fifth, Kentucky Wesleyan pulled away once again with a pair of runs. Adam Brown led off the inning with a double down the left field line and eventually scored on a single from Burke. Two batters later, Burke scored on a wild pitch to put the Panthers ahead by two.
Josh Galvan blasted a two-run home run to right field in the top of the sixth, his eighth home run of the season, to put Kentucky Wesleyan ahead by four. Levi Tanner capped off the scoring with a sacrifice fly that brought home Brown.
All nine Panthers tabbed at least one hit in game two with Snodgrass, Burke and Tanner recording two. Galvan, Burke and Tanner each drove in two runs.
Mitchell Jones pitched the first four innings, striking out three and allowing five runs off of six hits in the no decision. Nate Verst picked up his fourth win of the season, striking out two and allowing one run off of five hits in the final 5.0 innings.
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Liz Wacienga
Director of Athletic Communications