MARION, Ind. – The Indiana Wesleyan baseball team picked up a pair of hard-fought victories over Mount Vernon Nazarene University Saturday afternoon, pushing the winning streak to seven. The Wildcats won the first contest 4-3 in 10 innings before posting a come-from-behind 4-3 victory in seven frames.
Luke Roman played hero for the Wildcats in both games. In game one, Roman hit a walk-off single, scoring
Colin Yoder in the 10th. In game two, Roman sent a two run shot over the left field fence with two outs in the bottom of the 5th which proved to be the game winning runs.
- Location: Marion, Ind. | Wildcat Field
- Records: IWU - 25-9, 19-5 | MVNU - 15-17, 11-11
- Game One Score: IWU def. MVNU 4-3 (10 Innings)
- Game Two Score: IWU def. MVNU 4-3
- NAIA Top-25 Rankings: IWU - Unranked | MVNU - Unranked
- Trailing 1-0 in the second inning, Nick Wiley promptly knotted the game at 1-1 with a lead-off solo homer.
- The score remained tied at 1-1 until the seventh inning. MJ Stavola ripped a single up the middle. He was able to trot around the base paths as Caleb Engelsman crushed an offering over the fence for a two-run round-tripper.
- MVNU scored two runs in the ninth, forcing extra innings.
- In the 10th, Darien Pugh singled and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Colin Yoder came in as a pinch runner and promptly moved to third on a balk. Luke Roman ended the game with his infield base hit, allowing Yoder to score.
- For the game, Stavola and Greg Vineyard recorded two hits apiece. Engelsman led the way with two RBI while Roman and Wiley had one apiece.
- On the mound, Grayson Knight got the start and tossed seven innings. He had five strikeouts and walked just two. Knight gave up one run on three hits. Caleb Olsen worked the final three innings to pick up the win. He had two strikeouts in the contest.
- IWU got on the board in the first frame. Andrew Sinish reached on a fielder's choice and moved to second on Roman's groundout. Engelsman drove in Sinish with a single down the right field line for a 1-0 lead.
- MVNU took the lead with three runs in the third inning.
- The Wildcats cut into the deficit in the fourth stanza. Roman singled through the left side of the infield and hustled to third on a base hit from Engelsman. Vineyard's sacrifice fly made it 3-2.
- Roman gave IWU a 4-3 lead with a two-run round-tripper in the fifth. Stavola walked with one down. Two batters later, Roman crushed a pitch for the one-run advantage.
- For the game, Engelsman and Roman had two hits apiece. Roman posted a two-run homer and scored twice. Stavola also had a hit.
- Tate Warner got the start and tossed 3.2 innings with a strikeout. Jacob Boint worked 1.1 innings to pick up the win. Gibson Adema had a strikeout while Brennan Morehead threw the final 1.2 innings with a strikeout.
- What a weekend! Great baseball," said Head Coach Ian Macdoanld. "Collectively, the kids showed exceptional poise — winning three 1-run ball games. We got a few timely big hits. The bullpen was exceptional. And overall, we played sound fundamental defense. Extremely proud of this group."
- The Wildcats return to action Friday when they play a doubleheader at Taylor University starting at 3 p.m.
- Live stats and video will be available at IWUWildcats.com.
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