Baseball heads to Oakwood University

The first-place Wiley University baseball team will continue Gulf Coast Athletic Conference play with a three-game series at Oakwood University on Thursday and Friday.

Thursday's doubleheader starts at 3 p.m. Friday's finale begins at 1 p.m. Live coverage will not be available for the series. 

The Wildcats (14-14, 9-0 GCAC) are coming off a sweep over the defending GCAC regular season champion Rust College. They hit seven home runs and outscored the Bearcats 41-24. Ryan Ready went 9-for-14 and hit three home runs, including a walk-off grand slam. He scored eight runs and drove in 12 to earn GCAC Player of the Week. Ready ranks second in the GCAC with 33 RBI. He is third with a .427 batting average, 54 total bases, five home runs and a .720 slugging percentage.

Nick Rodriguez had two solid outings out of the bullpen. In 7 1/3 innings, he held the Bearcats to an earned run and struck out nine. Keyon Guillory won his third straight start in Game 2 on Saturday. Wiley's 11-game winning streak ended on Tuesday with a 10-4 loss against Southwestern Assemblies of God University.

Jhan Carlos Javier is tied with his teammate Ivan Del Villar for the most home runs in the GCAC with seven. He is second in batting average and ranks sixth in the NAIA with .478. Javier leads the GCAC with a .851 slugging percentage, which is in the top 20 of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The Wildcats rank second in the NAIA with 111 stolen bases. Eddie Garza ranks second in the GCAC and fourth in the NAIA with 28.

Oakwood (2-21, 2-7 GCAC) is coming off its first victories since restarting its program last season. It defeated Philander Smith University 15-11 and 15-14 to snap a 47-game losing streak. It is the Ambassadors' first GCAC series victory.

Jaylen Fairris leads the team with a .414 batting average. He has scored six runs and driven in seven. Jordan Jennings leads the team with nine RBI. He is hitting .294 with three doubles and a home run. Mateo Hamm leads the Ambassadors on the mound with 19 1/3 innings pitched, 18 strikeouts and a 9.78 earned run average.

The Wildcats played four games against Oakwood last season. It swept the three-game regular season series on the road. The teams met in the first game of the 2023 GCAC Baseball Championship, with the Wildcats coming away with a 25-0 victory. They outscored the Ambassadors 84-2 in four games.

For more coverage on the Wildcats visit Baseball - Wiley University (wileyathletics.com)

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