Baseball edges Rust College, moves into tie for first
HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss. – The Wiley College baseball team jumped out to the lead and held off surges by Rust College to move into a tie for first with a 10-9 victory Friday at Bearcat Field.
The Wildcats (12-12, 4-1 GCAC) improve to 6-5 on the road. The Bearcats five-game winning streak came to an end.
After allowing the opener to slip away, Wiley College came out swinging. Allan Mendoza led off with a double. Kai Woodard and Jhan Carlos Javier walked to load the bases. Ivan Del Villar brought home Mendoza with a fly ball to left. Bryce Garrett lined the ball over the centerfield wall for his third home run of the season and second career grand slam to put Wildcats ahead 5-0.
In the second inning, Luis Mares led off with a single. He advanced on a bunt by Mendoza and stole third. Javier brought him home on a sacrifice fly. Wiley College's offense slowed down as it only got one hit in the next two innings.
Del Villar started on the mound and only allowed two batters reach base in the first three innings. He retired seven straight from the end of the first inning through the third inning with two strikeouts. In the fourth inning, he got tagged for five runs on five hits.
The Wildcats got a run back in the fifth. Woodard led off with a single and Javier walked. A passed ball moved him to third. He scored on Del Villar's ground ball to short. The Bearcats answered with a run on two hits.
Donovan Rice led off the sixth with a single. Marquis Kuykendall pinch ran for him. A sacrifice bunt by Mares and a single by Woodard advanced him to third. Javier hit a ground ball to short to bring home Kuykendall. Mendoza, who reached on an error, scored when Rust attempted a double-play. Del Villar brought home Javier with a single.
The Bearcats (8-13, 4-1 GCAC) answered as four of their first five batters reached base. A single and two errors brought home three runs. Daniel Cox, who came in after the first two batters reached, got a strikeout and ground out to end the inning.
In the seventh, Cox struck out the first batter. Shemaar Stapleton singled to left. Alexander San Miguel threw him out attempting to steal second. Cox got the last batter to groundout to seal the victory.
Woodard went 2-for-3 and scored two runs. Mares went 2-for-3 with a run. Del Villar and Javier each drove in two runs. Mendoza, Woodard and Javier each scored two runs.
Vickers picked up his first career victory – pitching 1 2/3 innings. Cox earned his first career save, striking out three in two innings.
Due to rain later on Friday afternoon, the Wildcats will resume the series at 1 p.m. Sunday. The winner will take control of first in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference.
For more coverage on the Wildcats visit https://wileyathletics.com/sports/bsb/index
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