No. 3 Baseball Sweeps Doubleheader Against Truett McConnell

Athens, Tenn.- The baseball team, ranked No. 3 in the NAIA, returned to Athens Insurance Stadium on Saturday to close out their Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) opening series against the Truett McConnell University Bears. The two teams played a doubleheader to close out the three-game series.

Game One:

The story of the first game of the doubleheader: pitching and defense. The two teams combined for seven hits in the game (with the Bulldogs claiming six of them), and four runs. Blake Peyton, the starter on the mound, did not allow a hit until the sixth inning where the Bears scored a run to move ahead 1-0. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Preston Welchel became a base runner after an error. Carson Ford joined on base via a walk. Chaz Salter brought Welchel home with a single to right field to tie the game. After the bases became loaded on an Evan Magill walk, Braxton Turner hit a single that brought Ford and Salter across home plate to extend the team's lead to 3-1, the score the game ended with.

Peyton finished the game with 11 strikeouts and only one hit in six innings of work. Turner led the team with two RBIs.

Game Two:

The story of game two: offense. The first two runs of a combined 12-run game for the Bulldogs came in the first inning. With Welchel standing on first after a single, Dan Sayre belted a ball over the wall for a two-run home run. The offense exploded for nine runs in the third inning.

Welchel and Sayre opened the inning with singles. A sacrifice bunt by Ford put each runner in scoring position, completing their way around the bases on a Salter single to make the score 4-0. With Magill on first and Salter on third after a stolen base, Turner's single made Salter the fifth run of the game when he crossed home plate. A sacrifice bunt by Cayle Webster advanced courtesy runner Aiden McClary and Magill a base before Jacob Tolson brought both runners in with a double. Parker Stinnett advanced Tolson to third with a single, moving into scoring position via a stolen base. Welchel emptied the second and third with a single to move the lead to 9-0. Just like the beginning of the inning, Welchel and Sayre, who singled to get after Welchel, were the final two runs of the inning, giving TWU a commanding 11-0 advantage.

Truett McConnell cut into the lead in the fifth inning by scoring four runs. Ford earned one of the runs back with a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning. The opponents added another four runs in the sixth inning but pulled no closer to the score as the Bulldogs went on to win 12-8.

Ford led the team with three RBIs while Welchel, Sayre, Salter, and Tolson each had two RBIs. Thomas Wilhite had three strikeouts in the win while Sam Rochard (two strikeouts) and Alex Wize made relief appearances.

Tennessee Wesleyan (9-0, 3-0 AAC) will be back in action in Athens Insurance Stadium on Wednesday against Cumberland University. The first pitch is set for 2:00 p.m.