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The Wildcats lead the GCAC by a half-game.
The Wildcats lead the GCAC by a half-game.
Posted: Apr 18, 2024

Baseball visits Philander Smith, eyes GCAC Title

The Wiley University baseball team visits Philander Smith University with hopes of clinching the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular season title on Saturday and Sunday.

The Wildcats (21-17, 15-3 GCAC) took two out of three games against Southern University at New Orleans and hold a half-game lead in the GCAC standings. Ivan Del Villar went 6-for-10 with two home runs, six runs and three runs batted in. Amir Mason recorded four hits, four stolen bases and four runs. Keyon Guillory picked up two wins. He threw a two-hit shutout in the second game and pitched the last four innings of the finale. Guillory struck out 17 batters in 11 innings. He earned his third GCAC Pitcher of the Week award.

Wiley is looking to clinch its first conference title since winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference in 1956. It also won the SWAC in 1931.

Philander Smith University (2-27, 2-16 GCAC) is hoping to obtain the seventh seed. It has the same conference record as Oakwood University but lost the series and needs to finish a game ahead of it. The Panthers only returned six players from their inaugural season, which ended with 14 wins and finished in the top three in the 2023 GCAC Baseball Championship.

Mitchell Brown leads the team with a .380 batting average. Eight of his 27 hits have gone for extra bases with six doubles and two home runs. Brown scored 12 runs and drove in 15. Juan Zorola leads the Panthers with 18 RBI. He is hitting .372 with six home runs and 24 runs scored.

Diego Resendez is Philander Smith's top pitcher with a 7.98 earned run average. He has one of the Panthers' two victories. He struck out 16 batters in 29 1/3 innings.

Kevin Battles took over as head coach shortly before the season. Noah Suarez, who led the team in its inaugural season, took a job at Eureka College.

The Wildcats and Panthers played two conference series against each other last season. Wiley swept Philander Smith on the road but dropped two out of three games at home. It also lost to the Panthers 8-3 in an elimination game in the 2023 GCAC Baseball Championship.

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

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