MARION, Ind. – The No. 14 Indiana Wesleyan baseball team posted a pair of victories over Grace in league play by scores of 11-6 and 9-7.

 

THE ESSENTIALS

 

        • Location: Marion, Ind.
        • Records: IWU 7-5 I GC 7-8
        • Game One Score:  IWU def. Grace, 11-6
        • Game Two Score: IWU def. Grace, 9-7
        • NAIA Top-25 Rankings: IWU - #14 I GC – Unranked

 

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

 

 

• After getting out of a bases loaded jam in the first, Darien Pugh blasted a leadoff homer. After Quinn Willard was hit by a pitch, Luke Roman belted a two-run shot for a 3-0 lead.
• In the third, MJ Stavola singled, swiped second and raced home on a Caleb Engelsman base knock. Moments later, Engelsman scored on a sacrifice fly for a 5-0 advantage.
• Up 5-2 in the fourth, Engelsman drove in Stavola on a single. He then came home on Trevor Vojtkofsky's triple to center field for a 7-2 advantage. A bases loaded walk to Mark Snowden made it 8-2 in the sixth. 
• GC pulled within two at 8-6 with a four-run seventh inning. However, the Wildcats scored three in the bottom of the seventh for the 11-6 final. 
• Engelsman led the way with five hits, three RBI and three runs scored. Pugh, Stavola and Vojtkofsky had three hits apiece. Vojtkofsky, Roman and Snowden had two RBI apiece while Stavola crossed home four times.
• Grayson Knight struck out nine batters in 4.2 innings of work. Cam LaFuze had a strikeout while Will Eldridge had four. Brennan Morehead closed out the game by tossing 1.1 frames.

 

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

 

 

• Engelsman was huge in game two, driving in Stavola via a single in the second inning. Snowden doubled in Engelsman for a 2-0 lead. Pugh's base knock drove in Snowden for a three-run advantage.
• Roman and Stavola each scored in the third for a 5-2 margin.
• Willard and Roman each had base-scoring hits in the fourth, helping IWU once again push the lead to three, 7-4.
• Up 7-4, IWU scored a pair of runs in the fifth. Vojtkofsky blasted a two-run shot for the five-run lead. GC scored three in the sixth but the Wildcats held on for the two-run win.  
• Roman led the way with three hits while Pugh and Engelsman had two hits apiece. Engelsman and Vojtkofsky registered two RBI each.
• Tate Warner, Austin Bahmer and Gabe Stout each tossed 2.1 frames. Warner and Bahmer had four strikeouts each while Stout had three.

  

MACDONALD PERSPECTIVE

 

• "A hard fought series win. Full team effort!" said Head Coach Ian Macdonald. "Today, we played to our offensive identity: getting into & hitting with runners in scoring position. And we played great defense … We took a stride towards playing to our collective level of potential, consistently."

  

NEXT TIME OUT

 

• IWU returns to action Tuesday when they travel to Olivet Nazarene for a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.
• Links for tickets, video and stats are available at IWUWildcats.com.

 

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