Baseball battles Rust College for control of GCAC
The Wiley College baseball team will head to Rust College for a three-game series in which the winner will hold first place in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference.
The series will begin at 2 p.m. Thursday. Due to potential rain on Friday, Game 2 will be at 3 p.m. Saturday with the finale beginning at noon on Sunday. Live stats will be available on the GameChanger website or app.
The Wildcats (11-11, 3-0 GCAC) swept Oakwood University – outscoring it 59-2 in the three games. It's the first time Wiley College has won its opening conference series since 2017. Jhan Carlos Javier hit a two-run home run and a grand slam in the second game to tie for the conference lead with four. He drove in seven runs which put him at the top of the GCAC with 19. Bryce Garrett went 4-for-7 with five runs and four RBIs. He hit his second home run of the season in Game 3.
Wiley College's pitchers held the Ambassadors to two runs on seven hits and struck out 43 batters. Ivan Del Villar pitched three scoreless innings and struck out six to earn his third victory on March 16. Daniel Cox held Oakwood to one hit in four innings and struck out 12 – becoming the second Wildcat to record double-digit strikeouts in a game this season. Isaac Burciaga picked up his conference-leading fourth victory with six strikeouts in three innings.
Rust College (7-12, 3-0 GCAC) is on a four-game winning streak after sweeping Tougaloo College in its conference-opening series. In the last two games, the Bearcats won with walk-off hits. Stone Teague won his second consecutive GCAC Player of the Week award - going 5-for-11 in the series with six RBIs, a double and a triple. He leads the Bearcats with a .347 batting average. Khalil Robinson is batting .364 in nine games. He has hit four home runs, drove in 11 runs and scored twelve.
On the mound, the bullpen has earned most of Rust College's victories. Xavier Campbell has three and a save. He has allowed three runs on 12 hits in five appearances with a walk and five strikeouts. Jackson Bryant is 1-1 in four starts with a 6.30 earned run average. He has walked 11 and struck out 10. Brytan Sampson leads the team with 21 strikeouts.
The Wildcats and Bearcats have met four times dating back to 2007. Wiley College has two wins and a tie.
For more coverage on the Wildcats visit https://wileyathletics.com/sports/bsb/index
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