Baseball takes first two against Tougaloo College

The Wiley College baseball team rallied in the fifth inning after losing the lead to win the first game 13-4 and jumped out early and held off a late rally in a 9-6 victory over Tougaloo College Saturday at Airport Park.

The victories give the Wildcats their fourth Gulf Coast Athletic Conference series. They move within a half game of Rust College for first in the conference. The Bulldogs fall to fifth place – trailing Philander Smith College by a game.

Jhan Carlos Javier went 3-for-4 with a triple, two stolen bases – including home - and three runs. Luis Mares went 3-for-5 with a double, two runs and a run batted in. Alexander San Miguel went 2-for-4 with a triple and drove in three runs. Defensively he threw out a runner stealing second. Marquis Kuykendall went 2-for-3 with a double, two runs, two stolen bases and a RBI. Emanuel Gutierrez hit a two-RBI triple, scored two runs and stole two bases. Kai Woodard went 2-for-4 with a double, run and RBI.

Daniel Cox threw his third straight complete game. He scattered four runs on 10 hits, walked one and struck out four to earn his fourth victory.

Wiley College (18-16, 10-4 GCAC) took the lead in the first inning. Kai Woodard doubled and advanced on a fly ball by Ivan Del Villar. A passed ball brought him home. Javier singled, stole second and scored on a triple by Alexander San Miguel.

Tougaloo (8-28, 5-8 GCAC) got a run on two hits in the second. Marquis Kuykendall led off with a double. A two-out double by Mares brought the lead back to two. The Bulldogs got four straight hits with one out in the third, including a home run, to tie the game. Back-to-back doubles in the fifth gave Tougaloo the lead.

The Wildcats broke out offensively in the fifth – scoring five runs on five hits and an error. Mares led off with a single. Javier followed with a base hit and Del Villar reached on an error. San Miguel lined the ball to left to bring home Mares and Javier to put Wiley College ahead. Gutierrez increased the lead to three with his two-run triple. Kuykendall brought the lead to four with a single.

In the sixth inning, the Wildcats got much needed insurance runs as they scored five runs on three hits and an error. Woodard hit a RBI single. Del Villar and Kuykendall scored on passed balls.

Kuykendall went 2-for-2 – hitting his second home run of the season in Game 2. He scored two runs and drove in two. Woodard hit his fifth home run of the season in the fourth inning, which brought home Mares, who went 2-for-4 with a run runs and two RBIs. Del Villar hit two doubles, scored a run and drove in a run. Gutierrez went 1-for-2 with two runs and a RBI.

Isaac Burciaga picked up his conference-leading sixth victory. He went 5 2/3 innings, struck out seven and picked off two base runners. Jalen Porter pitched the last 1 1/3 innings taking the conference lead with his second save.

Wiley College took control in the fourth inning – scoring six runs on four hits. With one out, Gutierrez walked and stole second. He scored on a single by Devin Molina. A sacrifice bunt by Darion Wallace advanced Kuykendall, who was hit by a pitch and Molina to second and third. Both runners scored on a single by Mares. Woodard's blast increased the lead to six. Del Villar capped off the scoring with a RBI double.

Tougaloo scored two runs in the fifth on two hits and two errors. Kuykendall's home run pushed the lead back to six. The Bulldogs had one more rally in the sixth inning. They put up five hits – three with two outs and scored three runs. With the tying run at the plate, Porter got a strikeout to end the inning.

In the seventh inning, T.J. Hickman led off with a single but Johed Ortega, who came in as a defensive replacement turned a double play. Porter got a ground out to end the game.

The series concludes with a nine-inning game at noon on Sunday.

For more coverage on the Wildcats visit https://wileyathletics.com/sports/bsb/index

#FeartheClaws #NewEra #FortheW

FOLLOW THE WILDCATS
Twitter: @WileyAthletics
Facebook: /WileyAthletics
Instagram: @wileycollegeathletics
YouTube: /c/Wiley Wildcats