Baseball off to Black College World Series

The Wiley College baseball team will look to finish the 2023 season strong as it competes in its first Black College World Series presented by Tyson Foods Wednesday through Saturday at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama.

The Wildcats (21-20) earned the second seed in the NAIA Division and will open the double elimination tournament against Paine College which competes in the National Christian College Athletic Association at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The venue is the home of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays' Double A affiliate Montgomery Biscuits. All the games will be broadcast on the Black College Nines YouTube page. Tickets are available to purchase online or at the gate.

Wiley College is coming off competing in the 2023 Hope Credit Union Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Baseball Championship. It was their first postseason appearance in nine years. The Wildcats defeated Oakwood University 25-0 to pick their first postseason win since 2011. They fell to the eventual champion Dillard University and the third-place finisher Philander Smith College.

Ivan Del Villar went 6-for-12 with three triples, a double, five runs batted in and three runs scored. Marquis Kuykendall stole four bases. Allan Mendoza recorded three hits. He drove in five runs and stole four bases in the victory over Oakwood University. Darion Wallace scored five runs and stole four bases.

Daniel Cox threw five shutout innings in his first career postseason start against Oakwood University. Dylan Washington tossed three scoreless innings in two relief appearances.

Paine College (14-13) is coming off being swept in a doubleheader against Carolina University on April 25. It has split its last 10 games. Jeury Beato leads the Lions with a .409 batting average. Eleven of his 27 hits have gone for extra bases. He has drove in 18 runs and scored 13. Joshua Cruz leads the team with 24 runs. Alejandro Fernandez is the team leader with 24 RBIs.

On the mound, Justice Hunter is 5-6 with a 5.26 earned run average. He has struck out 65 and only walked 20. Camilo Martinez has struck out 31 batters in 25 1/3 innings pitched.

Wednesday will mark the first time the Wildcats and Lions have met on the diamond. The winner will play the winner between top seed Rust College and fourth seed Florida Memorial University at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The losers will play at 12:30 p.m.

The winner of the NAIA bracket will meet the winner of the NCAA Division II bracket for the championship at 5 p.m. Saturday. Competing in the NCAA Division II tournament are Albany State University, Savannah State University, Bluefield State College and Edward Waters College.

The full tournament schedule is available on blackcollegenines.com.

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

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