FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- Monday will bring a single 9-inning game to determine if Indiana Wesleyan University of University of Saint Francis (Ind.) will advance to the MCC Baseball Tournament final site.
The Wildcats and Cougars split the Saturday double dip in Fort Wayne, Indiana. IWU won the opener 11-8 while the Cougars evened the series with a 6-1 victory to force the deciding game three on Monday.
Saint Francis hosts all three games in the series as the No. 6-seed in the tournament. Indiana Wesleyan is the seventh seed. Three play-in series are being contested with the three winning teams joining the top three teams from the regular season at the six-team, final site tournament, which will be held at Indiana Wesleyan on May 4-7.
The Wildcats used a 19-hit attack in the opener to outslug the Cougars 11-8. IWU torched USF for 10 runs in the final three innings overcome a 6-1 deficit.
Catcher Alex Ridlen and first baseman Kyle Beachy each contributed four hit games while Ridlen and leftfielder Craig Dollens each homered. Indiana Wesleyan received multi-hit games from seven players and eight players knocked in at least one run.
Michael Caley was the winning pitcher despite being knocked around by Saint Francis. He surrendered eight runs on 13 hits in seven innings of work. Caley did not walk a batter and struck out five. Sam Lewis pitched a strong two innings in relief, allowing one hit with one punch out.
In game two, Saint Francis once again built the early advantage with a four run third inning. This time their pitching closed it out for a 6-1 contest.
Indiana Wesleyan bats were quieted in the second game to six hits. Third baseman Jonathan Bastian was the only Wildcat with two hits in the loss. Ridlen and centerfielder CJ Sandmann each reach base twice with a hit and a base on balls.
Ryne Brown took the loss on the mound. He gave up six runs - two earned - in 5 1/3 innings. He allowed 12 hits and two walks. Cody Jones and Chris Tyler provided strong relief the rest of the way for Indiana Wesleyan. The relievers combined for 2 2/3 innings with no runs on two hits.
Indiana Wesleyan and Saint Francis will complete the three-game series on Monday in Fort Wayne.
Click for box scores: Game 1 | Game 2
