MARION, Ind. -- Indiana Wesleyan University baseball split a doubleheader with visiting Bethel (Ind.) College on Saturday afternoon on Senior Day at Wildcat Field.
The Wildcats routed the Pilots 11-5 in the opener while BC earned a split with a 12-7 victory.
Indiana Wesleyan closes Mid-Central College Conference play with an 11-13 record, finishing sixth. By winning seven of their last eight games, Indiana Wesleyan was able to catch and surpass University of Saint Francis (Ind.) for sixth in the conference. The jump over Saint Francis allows IWU to host USF in the MCC Play-In Series instead of playing at Fort Wayne.
The best of three play-in series will be played on Tuesday, May 4 at Wildcat Field. If the first two games are a split, one game on Wednesday will determine which team advances to the MCC Tournament on May 8-11.
Indiana Wesleyan won the opener on Saturday with a barrage of runs in the final four innings of play after Bethel captured an early 2-0 lead in the first.
The Wildcats tied the score 2-2 in the third inning on a sac fly from right fielder Derek Freds and a RBI single by shortstop Ben Zachary.
Indiana Wesleyan continued to score in the next three innings, scoring three runs in each inning for an 11-2 advantage. Bethel plated three runs in the seventh inning for an 11-5 win.
Six Wildcats tallied RBIs in the victory and five players had two RBIs. Centerfielder Quinn Nofziger, leftfielder CJ Sandmann, Freds, Zachary and third baseman Jonathan Bastian all had multiple RBIs in the game.
Sandmann finished 3-for-4 with a walk, two runs scored and two stolen bases. Catcher Alex Ridlen added three hits and one RBI while Nofziger and Bastian each added a pair of hits.
Jordan Vannoy earned the win on the mound as he allowed two runs on six hits in four innings of work.
In the second game, Bethel quickly built a 7-0 lead in three innings. Indiana Wesleyan stormed back in the bottom of the third with six runs, highlighted by a three run home run by first baseman Kyle Beachy, and trailed 7-6.
But Bethel added one more run in the fourth and four more in the fifth for the eventual 12-7 win.
Freds was 2-for-3 at the plate with two doubles, one run and one RBI.
Indiana Wesleyan saw their season-best seven game win streak snapped in the second game as IWU finished the regular season with a 21-32 record. Bethel is now 23-24.
Box scores: Game 1 | Game 2
