Baseball claims series over Voorhees University
DENMARK, S.C. - The defending regular season conference champion Wiley University baseball team jumped to a four-run lead in a 9-5 Game 2 victory but could not maintain early momentum in a 7-3 loss in the finale against Voorhees University Saturday in Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) games.
The Wildcats (19-12, 11-4 HBCUAC) claim their fourth HBCUAC series and move to 7-8 in away games. They remain a half-game behind Southern University at New Orleans for second in the conference.
Wiley took the lead in the second game when Ivan Del Villar was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Two errors helped the Wildcats add three runs in the second. Jhan Carlos Javier led off the third with a double and scored on a steal of home. Amir Mason hit an RBI single to increase the lead to 6-1.
Three runs and three hits by Voorhees cut the lead to two. Wiley extended the lead in the sixth. Mason led off with a single and Ryan Ready reached on a fielder's choice. Ivan Del Villar hit a two-RBI single to score Mason and Ryan Clark, who pinch ran for Ready. Brendan Mendoza got hit by a pitch in the seventh. His courtesy runner, Sental Washington, scored on Jacob Perez's ground ball to third.
Mason went 3-for-4, drove in three runs and scored twice. Del Villar recorded two hits and drove in three runs. Isaac Burciaga picked up his fourth win and second complete game. He held Voorhees to five runs on 10 hits and struck out five.
Starting outfielders Perez, Garza and Javier didn't play in the finale. Armand Daigre started at second with Mason moving to designated hitter. Wiley struck first in the second inning. Kai Woodard, who started in left field, walked and advanced to second on a balk. Julian Rosales, who started in right field, brought him home with a single to right and took third on an error. A strikeout and flyout ended the inning.
The Wildcats added a run in the third. Ajari Camp, who started in centerfield, singled with one out and advanced to second on a balk. Del Villar hit an RBI single to increase the lead to two. Wiley had runners in scoring position in the fourth and fifth but couldn't bring them home.
Voorhees (13-11, 10-8 HBCUAC) scored a run on an error in the third. In the fifth inning, it tagged Wiley starter Nick Rodriguez for six runs on four hits and an error. The Wildcats got a run in the seventh on a double by Camp and a single by Ready.
Camp went 2-for-4 and scored two runs. Del Villar and Ready each got two hits and brought home a run. Rodriguez suffered his second loss after allowing five earned runs on seven hits. He struck out five batters in five innings. Ethan Jones held Voorhees scoreless in the sixth and struck out two batters.
The Wildcats will continue their road trip with a three-game HBCUAC series at Wilberforce University on March 28 and 29. The Bulldogs were swept by Rust College on Friday and Saturday.
For more coverage on the Wildcats visit https://wileyathletics.com/sports/bsb/index
About Wiley University Athletics
Wiley University sponsors 12 varsity sports: women's volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's indoor track and field, men's and women's outdoor track and field and baseball. It competes in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) and the Continental Athletic Conference for men's and women's soccer.
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