Baseball completes sweep of Tabor in Sunday doubleheader

The Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes would complete the sweep of the Bluejays, in a key Kansas Conference battle, taking both ends of Sunday’s doubleheader 8-6, and 3-1 at Dean Evans Stadium.

 

Wesleyan has won eight of the last nine meetings with the Bluejays dating back to last year’s late-season run.

 

Sunday’s opener didn’t disappoint with it coming down to the final out before KWU could breathe a sigh of relief.

 

Tabor loaded the bases with two outs, and Micah Dvorak brought home three runs with a double to center to make things interesting. After a walk to Brayden Whitchurch, the Coyotes appeared to have the victory in hand when Cody Moore struck out, but reached first when the ball got away from catcher Diego Solis (SO/El Paso, Texas).

Closer Ryan Sandoval (SR/El Paso, Texas) ended the suspense, getting Miguel Ramos to strike out looking to end the game.

 

Wesleyan took a 1-0 lead in the second when Haydn Brown (SR/Gardnerville, Nev.) led off with a single and later scored on Jarrett Gable (SR/Colleyville, Texas)’s single to left center.

 

Dustin Sipe (SR/Aztec, N.M.) made it 2-0 in favor of the Coyotes, driving home William Dryburgh (SR/St. Joseph, Mo.) who was hit by a pitch to start the inning.

 

Tabor got on the board in the fifth, but in the sixth the Coyotes put three on the board. Sipe led off with a single, and two batters later Zack Beatty (JR/Maple Park, Ill.) hit a towering homer out to right. Zach Olson (JR/Red Deer, Alberta) followed with a pinch hit double and then scored on Gable’s single to right.

 

The Bluejays got two on the board in the seventh, only to see the Coyotes respond with three more in the bottom of the inning.

 

Dryburgh led off the inning with a single, followed by Kendall Foster (SR/Prosper, Texs)’s 2-run homer. Two batters later, Brown launched a ball out to right field.

 

Brown had three of KWU’s 14 hits in the opener, while four others had two hits each. Jarrett Brannen (JR/Bakersfield, Calif.) had another excellent outing to improve to 7-0 on the season, going seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits with four strikeouts. KT Gearlds (SR/Ingram, Texas) went an inning and two-thirds allowing three runs on two hits. Ryan Sandoval got the save, getting the final out.

 

The Coyote pitching staff was again stellar in the second game, holding Tabor to just one hit, in the second inning on the way to a 3-1 win.

 

Tabor took a 1-0 lead in the second as Garrick Levesque singled to score Ramos.

 

Wesleyan tied it in the bottom of the inning as Olson hit a solo homer to left.

 

The Coyotes took the lead in the bottom of the third as Gable led off the frame with a homer. Wesleyan loaded the bases on three walks, but could not bring another run across in the inning.

 

In the fifth, Brown reached on an error, then scored on Beatty’s bloop double down the line in right.

 

Gable had two of KWU’s four hits in the game, while Beatty and Olson added one each. Starter Zach Westbrook (JR/Azle, Texas) went two innings, allowing a run on a hit, before reliever Ritter Steinmann (SO/Oroville, Calif.) came in and pitched five masterful innings, not allowing a hit while striking out four.

 

KWU is on the road next weekend at McPherson College. The teams will play the doubleheader on Saturday starting at Noon, and the single game on Sunday starting at 1 p.m., at Bulldog Park in McPherson.