No. 5 Baseball Blindside Truett McConnell in Series Sweep

ATHENS, Tenn.- After winning the first game on Friday, the fifth-ranked baseball team went into Saturday's doubleheader with the Truett McConnell University Bears looking for the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) series sweep. The mission was accomplished as the Bulldogs won both games.

Game One:

TWU exploded for 23 runs in the first game, starting with seven innings in the first inning. The first four batters for the Bulldogs, Josh Shelly, Devin Dixon, Daniel Stewart, and Kolton Reynolds, got on base. With Reynolds reach via a hit by pitch, Shelly became the first run. Dixon became the next run on a Corbin Shaw sacrifice fly. Nick Collins hit a double to bring in Stewart and Reynolds while Jack Stevens brought in Collins on a single. Kurtis Reid gave the team the sixth and seventh runs with a two-run home run. Truett McConnell cut the lead down to two runs, scoring two runs in the second and three runs in the third. 

Shaw ended the scoring drought, hitting a home run over the center field wall. Brayan Espinoza made it two home runs in the inning, blasting a ball over the left-field wall with Stevens on first for a two-run shot and a 10-5 lead.  On their way to six more runs, Tennessee Wesleyan started the fourth inning with five straight batters reaching base.

A single by Shaw was sandwiched between two walks, loading the bases with Reynolds, Shaw, and Collins. A wild pitch advanced each runner a base, giving the team 11 runs as Reynolds ran across home plate. Stevens loaded the bases again with a walk, and the fourth walked batter of the inning in Espinoza relieved Shaw of his time on base. Shelly made it five walks in the inning, bringing in Collins to make the score 13-5. Stewart ended the streak of walks, hitting a single that gave Stevens and Espinoza both the space to score. The inning ended with the team leading 16-5 after a Reynolds RBI single brought in Shelly.

Two two-run home runs helped the Bulldogs take their score to 20 runs. Reid hit his second home run of the game after a Stevens single while Shelly went yard after a Espinoza double, giving the team a 15-run advantage. The road to 23 concluded in the sixth inning. After a walk, Stevens got to second on a Hagen Escoto single and scored on Shelly's single. Escoto and Shelly became the final two runs of the game on Jacob Tolson's double in the series-clinching win.

Reid and Shelly both had four RBIs in the win. Daniel Batcher got the pitching win, striking out five batters in six innings on the mound.

Game Two:

The second game of the doubleheader was not as high scoring as six runs were only scored in the game. The four runs that gave TWU the win came in the form of two home runs

Kolton Reynolds gave the team the first lead, hitting a two-run home run that brought in Stewart in the first inning. The other home run came in the third inning after Truett McConnell 

This time, Stewart hit the home run with Dixon on base, giving the team four runs in a 4-2 win to complete the series sweep. 

Blake Peyton got the pitching win, striking out five batters in four innings. Christian Delashmit had six strikeouts in three innings.

A busy week that sees the Bulldogs (29-9, 18-6 AAC) play five games begins with a road game against No. 9 University of the Cumberlands on Tuesday. The game is set for 5:00 p.m.