UPLAND, Ind. - Indiana Wesleyan baseball was defeated by Taylor and Mount Vernon Nazarene in the Crossroads League Tournament on Saturday. The Wildcats fell to Taylor on a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth, losing 8-7. IWU kept game two close, never trailing by more than two runs, but couldn't pull it off, falling 5-3. The Wildcats are eliminated from the tournament, ending their season with a record of 31-23.
 

THE ESSENTIALS

 

• Location: Upland, Ind. | Winterholter Field
• Seeds: IWU #3 | TU #2 | MVNU #1
• Records: IWU 31-23 | TU 38-16 | MVNU 36-16
• Game One Score: TU def. IWU 8-7
• Game Two Score MVNU def. IWU 5-3

 

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

 

• IWU led the whole game before falling on a walk-off home run.
• The Wildcats outhit the Trojans 14 to 9, led by Denver Blinn with three hits.
• Lucas Goodin had a two-run double in the third and followed up with a solo shot in the fifth which put the Wildcats up by three. 
• Evan Salmon had a three-run homer in the seventh, putting IWU up 7-3, but they wouldn't score again. 
• Taylor scored three in the seventh, one in the eighth, and one in the ninth on a walk-off home run.

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

 

• The Cougars took a two-run lead in the first inning, which would prove to be the difference. 
• Evan Salmon blasted a home run in the third, he finishes the season with 24 home runs which stands as the new IWU home run record. 
• IWU stranded 12 runners, which was seven more than the Cougars did. 
• Denver Blinn scored on an error in the sixth and brought the game within one, but the Wildcats were held scoreless through the final three innings.

  

CONTINUING THE TOURNAMENT

 

• The Wildcats are eliminated from the tournament, ending their season. The team finished with a record of 31-23 and set a new record for team home runs in a season with 81.

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