Baseball overwhelms Oakwood in GCAC Championship Opener
JACKSON, Miss. – The Wiley College baseball team put up runs every inning as it dominated Oakwood University 25-0 in its first game of the 2023 Hope Credit Union Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Baseball Championship Thursday at Hank Aaron Sports Academy Smith-Wills Stadium
The Wildcats (21-18) win their first postseason game since 2011 and open a conference tournament with a win for the first time in program history. They recorded their first postseason shutout in program history.
Allan Mendoza went 2-for-4 with a double, three runs and five RBIs. Jhan Carlos Javier went 2-for-3 with a triple, two runs and four RBIs. Marquis Kuykendall went 2-for-3 with a double, three runs and an RBI. Ivan Del Villar went 2-for-4 with a double, triple, two runs and an RBI. Luis Mares went 2-for-4 with three runs. Alexander San Miguel got a base hit, scored a run and drove in three. Julian Rosales hit a three-run double and scored a run. Devin Molina hit a double, scored three runs and brought home two. Darion Wallace recorded a base hit, scored three runs and drove in one.
Wiley College broke the program record with 16 stolen bases, topping its previous high of 12 – which also occurred against Oakwood University. Mendoza stole four, Kuykendall and Wallace followed with three. Devin Molina had two. Javier, Kai Woodard, Mares and Rosales each had one.
Daniel Cox got the start and held Oakwood scoreless in five innings. He had to deal with base runners every inning as the Ambassadors put up eight hits. Cox struck out four and benefited from two double plays by the defense. On a strikeout, San Miguel caught a runner stealing third in the second inning. Molina turned a double play in the fourth inning. Dylan Washington pitched the final two innings and held Oakwood to one hit and struck out three.
Mendoza and Woodard led off the first inning by being hit by a pitch. Both came home on Javier's triple. Del Villar followed with a triple to score Javier. A fly ball by San Miguel drove in Del VIllar giving the Wildcats a four-run lead.
Wallace scored in the second when he drew a walk and stole two bases. Javier brought him home with a single to third. Wiley College scored four runs in the third on four hits. Molina hit a two-RBI double and Mendoza hit a two-RBI single. The Wildcats added six runs in the third off four hits. They added nine runs in the fifth inning.
After the inning, head coach Kendrick Biggs subbed his starters. Bryce Garrett, who played in his first game since April 2, led off the sixth with a double. He scored on a single by Donovan Rice.
The Wildcats will face second seed Dillard University at 9 a.m. Friday. The winner will play the winner of top seed Rust College and fifth seed Tougaloo College at noon on Saturday. The loser will face Philander Smith at 6 p.m. Friday.
For more coverage on the Wildcats visit https://wileyathletics.com/sports/bsb/index
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