No. 6 Baseball Splits Series Conclusion Against Kokomo

KOKOMO, Ind.- The sixth-ranked baseball team returned to the field in Kokomo, Ind., to conclude their four-game series against the Indiana University Kokomo Cougars on Saturday. Tennessee Wesleyan won the first two games of the series on Friday. The visiting Bulldogs were the home team on the scoreboard on Saturday.

Game One:

Braxton Turner became the first base runner for the team in the third inning. Carson Ford followed with a single to right field, putting runners on the first two bases. A single to center field gave Turner the space to score, giving the team a 1-0 advantage. The lead moved to 4-0 when Jack Stevens belted a ball over the left-center wall for a three-run home run. 

Kokomo cut into the lead in their half of the fourth inning. Daniel Stewart opened the fourth inning with a double. Courtsey-runner Aiden McClary moved to third on a Kruise Newman ground out and scored on Turner's single, moving the score to 5-2. The seventh inning saw the game become tied. 

The opponents tied the game and took over the lead in the seventh inning. Martinez eventually tied the game in the other part of the seventh inning, turning his double into a run off Stevens' double, making the score 6-6 at the end of the seventh. The eighth inning saw the Cougars move ahead 10-6. In the ninth inning, TWU was not able to find the runs to extend the game, scoring three runs to make the final score 10-9 in favor of the opponents.

Stevens had a home run while finishing with five RBIs in the game. 

Game Two:

Like the first game of the doubleheader, the second game was close. Martinez gave the team the first lead with a solo shot to center field. Kokomo tied the score in the top of the second inning. In the bottom of the second, the Bulldogs took back the lead.

Stevens opened the inning with a single, moving to second on Cayle Webster's sacrifice bunt. An error on Stewart's at-bat allowed Stevens to score, moving the lead to 2-1 after the second inning concluded. The opponents moved ahead in the third inning.

Trailing 4-2 entering the sixth inning, Tennessee Wesleyan started the inning with a Stevens double and a Webster hit by pitch. A ground out on the next at-bat and a wild pitch moved each runner forward two bases, making Stevens cross home place to move the score to 4-3. After an Evan Magill walk, Dante Leach singled to center field, bringing Webster across home plate to put the game in a 4-4 tie. Two errors occurred next, the first loading the bases and the second bringing Magill and Leach home to move the Bulldogs ahead 6-4, the score the team went on to win by.

Daniel Davila pitched all seven innings in the seven-inning game, finishing with three strikeouts on the mound. 

TWU (4-4) will play their first home game of the season on Friday when they open Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play against Montreat College. The game at Athens Insurance Stadium is set for 12:00 p.m.