WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The West Virginia Wesleyan College baseball team turned in a strong day at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational on Thursday, sweeping a doubleheader from St. Michael's at Lake Myrtle Main Field. The Bobcats opened the day with a 7–3 victory before rallying late to claim a 5–4 win in the nightcap.
West Virginia Wesleyan 7 – St. Michael's 3
The Bobcats used timely hitting and a steady pitching performance from
Anthony Hernandez to take the opener of the doubleheader.
Wesleyan struck first in the bottom of the first inning. After
Coleman Cross reached on a single and advanced into scoring position,
Matthew Neach drove him in with an RBI groundout to give the Bobcats an early 1–0 advantage.
The Bobcats added two more runs in the second inning with the help of St. Michael's defensive miscues. A passed ball allowed
Isaac Lough to score before
Malik Wood pushed another run across with a sacrifice bunt that brought home
Carter Collins for a 3–0 lead.
St. Michael's cut into the lead in the fourth when Trevor Arsenault doubled to center field to score
Josh Ayala and make it 3–1. Wesleyan responded immediately in the bottom half with its biggest inning of the game.
Adrian Amezquita delivered an RBI double to score Collins, and
Coleman Cross followed with an RBI single to extend the lead. Another run came home on a balk as the Bobcats stretched the advantage to 6–1.
The Purple Knights scored once in the fifth and again in the seventh, but the Bobcats answered in the fifth when
Isaac Lough singled home
Matthew Neach to keep the margin comfortable at 7–2 before closing out the 7–3 victory.
Cross led the Wesleyan offense with two hits and two runs scored, while Neach, Lough, Amezquita, and Wood each recorded an RBI.
On the mound,
Anthony Hernandez earned the win, working 6.2 innings while allowing three runs (one earned) on eight hits with five strikeouts.
Austin Mann came on to record the final out and collect the save.
West Virginia Wesleyan 5 – St. Michael's 4
The Bobcats rallied from an early deficit in the second game and scored the go-ahead run in the final inning to complete the sweep.
St. Michael's jumped out to an early lead in the first inning when Max Kolifrath doubled home Jack Pattison for a 1–0 advantage. The Purple Knights extended the lead to 4–0 in the second after a combination of hits, a stolen base, and a throwing error allowed three runs to cross the plate.
Wesleyan began its comeback in the fourth inning.
Grant Shumaker reached on an error before
Matthew Neach singled to put runners on the corners.
Dylan Neach then delivered the big hit of the inning, lining a two-run single to left field to bring the Bobcats within two.
Malik Wood followed with a sacrifice fly that scored
Drew Jrolf, trimming the deficit to 4–3.
The Bobcats tied the game in the fifth when
Jamison Smith reached and eventually scored on
Isaac Lough's sacrifice fly to even the score at 4–4.
The decisive run came in the seventh.
Coleman Cross led off with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. During the ensuing sequence, a passed ball allowed Cross to race home with the go-ahead run, giving Wesleyan a 5–4 lead.
Starting pitcher
Alex Hernandez made the lead stand, retiring the Purple Knights in order in the bottom of the seventh to complete a strong outing. Hernandez worked the full seven innings, allowing four runs on eight hits while striking out nine batters to earn the victory.
Coleman Cross paced the Bobcat offense with three hits and a run scored, while
Dylan Neach drove in two runs in the comeback effort.
West Virginia Wesleyan continues play at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational with one final game against Minnesota-Crookston on Friday, Mar. 6.
