Coyotes split with Sterling, streak ends at 14
By: David Toelle, KWU Sports Information

STERLING – Kansas Wesleyan saw its 14-game winning streak snapped as Sterling College edged the Coyotes 1-0 in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader. Wesleyan rallied for a 5-3 win in the night cap for the split.

GAME ONE: Sterling 1, KWU 0 – Sterling starter Brett Ormiston took a no-hitter through six and two thirds innings before Darell Grames singled to break up the no-hit bid.

Sterling got its lone run in the bottom of the sixth with two outs. Rob Carroll singled and later scored on a double by Ryan Swindell when Wesleyan second baseman Dusty Romero missed the cutoff throw from left. Swindell was then gunned down at third trying to go to third on the play to end the inning.

Wesleyan’s only other baserunners reached in the first when Brandon Mathes got on on an error by Morgan Fernandez and Stephen Cilladi bunted and reached on a fielder’s choice.

Sterling’s only other hit came in the third when Murri Lazaroff-Babin singled to third.

Ormiston got the win for Sterling, going the distance, allowing just one hit while striking out three and faced only two batters over the minimum.

Casey Barnes went the distance for Wesleyan, dropping his first decision of the season, pitching six innings, giving up three hits and one unearned run and struck out two and walked none.

GAME TWO: KWU 5, Sterling 3 – The Coyotes plated three runs in the third inning and broke a 3-3 tie in the fifth with a run and added another in the seventh to get the 5-3 win to salvage the split in game two.

Dan Herrle led the third off with a single and later scored when Brock Pettyjohn walked with the bases loaded. Mike Pettibone then followed with a two-run double.

Sterling (14-25, 6-8) got three runs in the bottom of the fourth to tie things up. Matt Elliott singled with one out and Ryan Staten reached on an error by Romero. Callen Kincaide then singled scoring Elliott. After a fielder’s choice, Fernandez singled to score Staten and Matt Garcia added a base knock to score Matt Strickland.

Pettyjohn reached on a one-out single in the top of the fifth and later scored when Romero reached on an error by Lazaroff-Babin. The Coyotes had a chance to add more runs, but left the bases full when Hook grounded into an inning-ending fielder’s choice.

Wesleyan (24-8, 11-3) again loaded the bases, and added a run in the seventh when back-to-back walks drove in Pettibone, who had led off the inning with a walk. The Coyotes had the sacks packed with just one out, but a line out to first by Grames and a fielder’s choice to third by Mathes ended the threat.

Sterling was unable to get anything going in their half of the seventh as Swindell was the only batter to reach when he walked with one out. Staten would ground out to second to end the game.

Jeremy New got the win for Wesleyan, pitching five innings of relief of starter Shaun Sumter. New gave up three runs on six hits while walking two. Sumter tossed two innings, giving up two hits and striking out one. Pettibone and Herrle each had two hits to lead offensively, while Pettibone had two RBIs.

Devin McGurk took the loss for Sterling, giving up four runs on six hits, while striking out two and walking two in five innings of work. Keith Santos pitched two innings in relief, giving up one run on one hit while walking three. Kincaide had two hits to lead the Warriors.

Wesleyan is back in action on Tuesday as they head to Leavenworth to take on the University of Saint Mary. The Coyotes are back home on Wednesday, opening a season-ending six date home stand (with the yet-to-be-announced rescheduled Ottawa date), facing Mid-America Nazarene at 2 p.m. at Dean Evans Stadium. The Coyotes then take on Saint Mary on Thursday and arch-rival Bethany on next Saturday.

-- KWU SI --