SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – Indiana Wesleyan baseball secured a decisive 6-1 victory over Marian in their Crossroads League Tournament opener on Thursday. The red and grey tallied nine hits, including a home run, while holding the Knights to one run on six hits. With this victory, the Wildcats win their first matchup in the Crossroads League Tournament and advance to face the 2 seed Huntington Foresters tomorrow at 6:00 PM.
THE ESSENTIALS
- Location: Spring Arbor, Mich. | Burbridge Field
- Records: IWU - 31-20 | MU - 23-23, 17-19
- Game Score: IWU def. MU 6-1
- NAIA Rankings: IWU - NR | MU - 24
- CL Seed: IWU - 4 | MU - 3
GAME RECAP
- In the second inning, Ben Seitzinger doubled to left field, setting the stage for Trevor Vojtkofsky's RBI double to right, which brought Seitzinger home. The Wildcats led 1-0 after the second inning.
- In the fourth inning, Seitzinger walked and advanced to second on a groundout. Mark Snowden's single to left field drove in Seitzinger, extending Indiana Wesleyan's lead to 2-0.
- Marian responded in the sixth inning with a solo home run by Zach Bale, narrowing the gap to 2-1.
- IWU added two more runs in the seventh inning. Jackson Mott, running for Vojtkofsky, scored on a throwing error, and Snowden scored on Jay Tomes' fielder's choice bunt, pushing the lead to 4-1.
- In the eighth inning, Andrew Sinish, running for Nick Wiley, scored on a shortstop's throwing error, increasing the lead to 5-1.
- In the ninth inning, Tomes hit a solo home run, capping the scoring at 6-1. The Knights were unable to respond in their half, sealing the win for the Wildcats.
- Kevin Corcoran delivered a strong performance, pitching 6 innings and allowing only 1 earned run on 4 hits while striking out 7 batters. He threw 100 pitches, with 57 of them being strikes, and issued 4 walks. Noah Wathen closed the game with 3 innings of relief, conceding just 2 hits and striking out 6, earning the save. Together, Corcoran and Wathen combined for 13 strikeouts over 9 innings, effectively limiting the Knight offense.
KEY WILDCATS
- Jay Tomes - 1-4, 1 run, 2 RBI, HR
- Ben Seitzinger - 1-3, 2 runs
- Kevin Corcoran - W, 6.0 IP, 7 K, 1 ER
- Noah Wathen - S, 3.0 IP, 6 K, 0 ER
LOOKING AHEAD
- IWU faces Huntington tomorrow at 6:00 PM at Hank Burbridge field in Spring Arbor, Michigan.
- Links for live stats will be available at IWUWildcats.com.
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