UPLAND, Ind. --  Indiana Wesleyan University baseball is one step closer to clinching their first ever appearance at the NAIA National Tournament as they defeated Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 9-8 in the first game on Wednesday. The two teams play again later Wednesday afternoon with the winning team earning the national tournament bid and a spot into the Crossroads League Tournament championship game.

Game Vitals

• Tournament:  Crossroads League Tournament
• Score:  Indiana Wesleyan - 9   |   Mount Vernon Nazarene - 8
• Records:  Indiana Wesleyan 35-23   |   Mount Vernon Nazarene 35-17
• NAIA Top- 25 Rank:  Indiana Wesleyan - Not ranked   |   Mount Vernon Nazarene - Not ranked
• Location:   Winterholter Field   |   Taylor University   |   Upland, Indiana 

What Went Down

• Indiana Wesleyan held three leads through the first five innings but Mount Vernon Nazarene tied it all three times.
• IWU’s Brandon Shaffer (JR/Albuquerque, N.M.) and MVNU’s Corey Gould each hit lead-off home runs for their teams.
• Brandon Shaffer connected on a two out, two RBI single in the 2nd inning for a 3-1 Wildcat lead. Riley Swanson answered with a 2-run home run in the home half of the 2nd as MVNU tied the score 3-3.
• Thomas Sautel (FR/Littleton, Colo.) hit a lead-off home run in the 4th inning to give IWU the 4-3 lead but MVNU tied it 4-4 in the 5th inning on an Efrain Montero RBI single.
• Caleb Eder (FR/North Vernon, Ind.) hit an RBI single up the middle in the 6th inning as Indiana Wesleyan now led 5-4. It was the fourth and final lead for the Wildcats.
• IWU added on in the 7th inning with three runs to lead 8-4. Caleb Birkey (SR/Granger, Ind.) had an RBI single while Derek Shomon (SR/Glenview, Ill.) nailed a two run single. Thomas Sautel added an RBI single in the 8th inning for a 9-4 cushion.
• The Sautel RBI turned out to be a crucial one as MVNU plated four runs in the 9th inning to close to within 9-8. Caleb Eder induced a fly out to center field to end the game.
• Thomas Sautel went 4-for-5 with a home run, two RBI, and three runs scored. Brandon Shaffer added a 3-for-5 performance with a home run and three RBI.
• Jacob Gividen (SO/Portage, Mich.) (9-3) earned the victory as he allowed four runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings. Caleb Eder managed the final two outs to collect his seventh save of the season.
  
   

Next Time Out

• Indiana Wesleyan and Mount Vernon Nazarene plays again at 4:30 on Wednesday. The winner advances to the Crossroads League Tournament championship game on Thursday vs. Taylor (Ind.) and earns the league’s second automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament.