Baseball takes the opener, falls in second game against Dillard

Baseball takes the opener, falls in Game 2

Wiley University center fielder Kaleb Gilner drove in three runs to lead the Wildcats to a 5-3 victory in the series opener. In the second game, they fell behind early and struggled to throw strikes in the seventh inning of a 16-7 loss against Dillard University Saturday at Coker Field.

The Wildcats (13-13, 7-4 HBCUAC) move to 10-5 at home. It's the second time they've split the opening games.

GAME 1

Gilner hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning which scored Orenthal Lewis, who led off with a double. In the third inning, he hit a two-RBI single with two outs to give Wiley the lead. Lewis went 2-for-3. Eddie Garza hit an RBI single in the second inning. Jose Villalobos recorded a hit and scored twice.

Ethan Jones earned his fourth victory and threw his first career complete game. He held the Bleu Devils to two earned runs on six hits and struck out three. Jones held them scoreless in the last four innings.

Wiley allowed two runs in the first inning. An error and two doubles got the Bleu Devils on the board. Gilner's sacrifice fly and Garza's RBI single, which scored Villalobos, who singled, tied the game in the second inning. Dillard retook the lead in the third. A walk and hit by pitch set up a scoring opportunity.

With one out in the bottom of the third, John Barajas walked and advanced on a balk. A ground ball by Lewis moved him to third. He scored the tying run when Jaziel Martinez reached on an error. Villalobos followed with a walk which advanced Martinez' courtesy runner Cameron McCoy to second. With both of them running on the pitch, Gilner hit it to deep right-center field, bringing home both runners.

Dillard (6-11, 4-4 HBCUAC) loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth but a flyout ended the inning. A hit by pitch and a single put runners on the corners for the Bleu Devils in the fifth inning. Martinez was able to pick off the runner on third. Jones got a strikeout to end the inning.

GAME 2

An error sparked a four-run first inning for Dillard. With two outs, it recorded three straight hits, including a three-run home run. Wiley quickly answered. Gilner led off with a walk and Amir Mason launched his first home run to cut the lead in half. The Bleu Devils increased the margin to three with a run in the second on three hits.

Ajari Camp reached on a fielder's choice in the fourth. He advanced to second on a balk and scored on a single by Daniel de los Rios. Dillard hit its second home run to push the margin to four. With one out in the fifth, Del Villar was hit by a pitch, Barajas singled and Devin Gladney drew a walk to load the bases. A ground ball to second by Ajari Camp brought home Del Villar. Wiley pulled within one in the sixth on doubles by Gilner and Mason.

The Wildcats struggled to locate the strike zone in the seventh inning. They hit five batters and walked four. Dillard got four hits, including a grand slam – which pushed the margin to 10. Wiley used four pitchers to get through the seventh and allowed 15 batters to come to the plate.

Del Villar made his third start and only pitched the first inning. None of the four runs he allowed were earned. Juan Pena pitched three innings in relief and held Dillard scoreless in the fourth and fifth.

Gilner went 2-for-3 with two runs. Mason went 3-for-4 and finished with three RBI. Camp scored two runs and De los Rios drove in two.

The series concludes at noon tomorrow.