MARION, Ind. – The No. 14 Indiana Wesleyan baseball team had to wait until playing the final two games of the series against Marian University, but the Wildcats picked up a pair of victories Monday by scores of 9-7 and 7-5. Senior
MJ Stavola became the program's career steals leader with two in game one, bringing his career total to 87.
• Location: Marion, Ind.
• Records: IWU 12-5 I MU 8-11
• Game One Score: IWU def. Marian, 11-9
• Game Two Score: IWU def. Marian, 7-5
• NAIA Top-25 Rankings: IWU - #14 I MU – Unranked
- The back-and-forth affair saw IWU trail after the first half inning of play, but a Nick Wiley single to left field plated Darien Pugh, knotting the score at 1-1.
- Down 3-2 in the bottom of the second, a wild pitch allowed Trevor Vojtofsky to cross home. MJ Stavola's double to left field drove in Caleb Engelsman in the third, tying the game at 3-3.
- Trailing 4-3 in the fourth, Quinn Willard belted a two-run homer for a 5-4 edge. After Wiley and Engeslman each walked and swiped a base, Stavola drove both home with a single for a 7-5 advantage.
- Marian scored four runs in the fifth to regain the lead at 9-7.
- The score remained the same until the bottom of the eighth. With the bases loaded, Engelsman powered a base hit to center field, knocking in Pugh and Willard. After Stavola was hit by a pitch, Zach Green's groundout drove in Luke Roman. A balk pushed Engelsman across for the 11-9 final.
- For the game, Engelsman and Willard had three hits apiece. Each drove in two. Stavola had two hits and drove in three. Engelsman and Pugh each crossed home three times.
- Grayson Knight worked four innings and had nine strikeouts. Cam LaFuze worked two frames before Caleb Olson tossed three scoreless innings with three strikeouts to get the win.
- Down 1-0 in the second, Stavola singled, moved to second on C. Yoder's base hit and both swiped second base. Green singled in Stavola before Yoder scored on a double play for a 2-1 lead.
- Tied at 2-2, Willard tripled to lead off the bottom of the third. Roman brought him in with a single. After stealing second, Roman scored on a base hit by Wiley. After Engelsman reached on a fielder's choice, Stavola crushed a two-run homer for a 6-2 advantage.
- Marian scored two runs in the fourth to pull within two, 6-4.
- IWU extended the margin to three in the bottom of the fifth. Engelsman started things off with a single to center field and moved to second on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Green reached on an error and Engelsman raced around to score for a 7-4 lead.
- For the game, eight Wildcats recorded hits. Stavola had a team-best two hits, including a homer. He and Green each had two RBI. Engelsman and Stavola crossed home twice apiece.
- Tate Warner got the start on the mound and had three strikeouts in2.2 innings. Jacob Boint worked two-thirds of a frame and had one strikeout. Gabe Stout notched four strikeouts in 1.2 innings of work. Brennan Morehead threw the final two innings and notched five strikeouts in the win.
"Beating an opponent four times in a row is extremely challenging," said Head Coach
Ian Macdonald. "We found ways to get runners on, ran the bases well, got some big hits when we needed them … We played sound defense … We pitched it great in the first two games, well enough in the second two … Some guys have really stepped in & stepped up … Onto prep for Goshen."
- The Wildcats return to action Friday, March 15 when they host Goshen College for a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m.
- Links for tickets, video and stats are available at IWUWildcats.com.
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