Coyotes break out of offense slump, sweep Hillsdale Baptist
By: David Toelle, KWU Sports Information

The Kansas Wesleyan bats finally awoke in the sixth inning of the first game of a doubleheader with Hillsdale FreeWill Baptist College, Okla., as the Coyotes rallied from a 8-1 deficit to win game one 9-8, and easily win game two 14-1 in five innings.

Hillsdale scored four runs in the first three innings of game one, and added four more in the top of the sixth on a grand slam by Jeremy Higdon. The Coyotes, down 8-1, responded, putting seven runs on the board in the bottom half of the frame to tie the game at 8-all going into the seventh.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Coyotes got Ty Clifton aboard on an error by the third baseman, and moved Clifton to third on a double by AJ Anthony. Ryan Wardein was intentionally walked to load the bases, and then Adam Carroll singled to drive in the winning run.

Wardein earned the win for the Coyotes, pitching a hitless seventh inning, while Tony Gomez took the loss for the Saints.

The Wesleyan offensive explosion continued into game two as the Coyotes jumped out to a early 1-0 lead as AJ Anthony scored on an error by Hillsdale. The Coyotes exploded for six runs in the second and third innings, and added another one in the fourth.

Ryan Wardein scattered five hits over five innings, only throwing 46 pitches in game two for the win. Wardein had the shut-out bid going, but Zac Griffin scored on a pass ball with two outs in the top of the seventh. T.C Cole took the loss for Hillsdale, giving up 13 runs on 12 hits in just three innings of work.

AJ Anthony, Adam Carroll, Andy Brockman, Ryan Wardein, Josh Flax, and Kyle Dillehay all doubled for the Coyotes in game two.

Wesleyan’s record improves to 10-32 overall, as the Coyotes return to KCAC action on Saturday against Sterling, starting at 5:00 PM at Evans Stadium.

****** PLEASE NOTE GAME TIME CHANGE FOR SATURDAY APRIL 16 ******

Due to a scheduling conflict the doubleheader with Sterling on Saturday has been changed to a 5:00 PM start, from the originally scheduled starting time of 12:00 PM.

-- KWU SI --