No. 3 Baseball Wins Road Opener in Sweeping Fashion

Elizabethton, Tenn.- The baseball team returned to the diamond on Saturday. The third-ranked Bulldogs opened an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) series on the road against the (RV) Milligan University Buffaloes. This was the first time the team went on the road in the 2023 season.

Game One:

Tennessee Wesleyan took game one of the doubleheader by a score of 9-0. Dan Sayre started the route to nine runs with a solo home run in the third inning, one of two runs in the inning. The second came from Carson Ford, who after a bunt single and stolen base, scored on Braxton Turner's RBI double to make the lead 2-0 after the third inning. Sayre recorded another run in the fifth, this time starting with a single, stealing second and third and scoring on a Turner RBI single to move the lead to 3-0.

In the fifth, the Bulldogs added three more runs toward their 9-0 score. Parker Stinnett opened the fifth with a bunt single. A double down the left field line scored Stinnett and left Evan Magill standing on second. Sayre came to the plate and made the score 6-0 with his two-run home run, bringing Magill home.

The final three runs on their way to nine came in the eighth inning. Stinnett started with a triple and was joined at second base by Andre Tarver after a double. Sayre scored both with his double to right field to make the lead eight runs. Sayre scored from third on a wild pitch, giving the team the nine runs they won by.

Sayre finished the game 4-5 from the plate with four runs, a double, and two home runs to total five RBIs. Turner added two RBIs. Blake Peyton started on the mound, pitching six innings and only allowing one hit while striking out eight batters. Carter Gannaway pitched three innings to get the save, striking out three batters.

Game Two:

The second game of the doubleheader turned out to be a different, but familiar challenge for the Bulldogs.

TWU took control early, scoring three runs in the first. Sayre, getting to first on a single and second via a stolen base, scored on Ford's single. Ford made his way to second on a stolen base and third on a ground, scoring on Stinnett's error to make the lead 2-0. After stealing second and moving to third on a Chaz Salter single, Stinnett scored on a Preston Welchel ground out, giving the team a 3-0 lead. Milligan scored a run in the bottom of the first to cut into the lead.

The offense for the Bulldogs went cold over the next several innings as the team ended the game with 13 runners left on base. By the sixth inning, Milligan had tied the game 3-3 after runs in the third and sixth. Neither team was able to put a run on a board in the seventh inning of the scheduled seven-inning game, moving the game to extra innings. In the eighth inning, Tennessee Wesleyan took the lead back.

Back-to-back errors allowed Magill and Cade Bochlter to reach base. Sayre hit a sacrifice bunt to move each runner a base. The second out of the inning occurred before Turner's single to center field brought two runs in, Magill and pinch-runner Tarver, giving the team a 5-3 lead. Turner became the sixth run, scoring on a base-loaded Welchel walk to make the score 6-3. Kyle Bloor came in and struck out three consecutive batters in the bottom of the eighth, giving the team the 6-3 win in eight innings for the doubleheader sweep.

Turner and Welchel finished with two RBIs in the game. Gage Vailes pitched five innings, striking out seven batters. Sam Rochard pitched two innings and was credited with the win while Bloor got the save.

The series between the Bulldogs (15-1, 8-0 AAC) and the Buffaloes finish on Sunday with a single game beginning at 1:30 p.m.