No. 1 Baseball Overpowers Brewton-Parker

MOUNT VERNON, Ga.- The baseball team, ranked No. 1 in the NAIA, played a doubleheader and won both games on Tuesday. TWU defeated the Brewton-Parker College Barons 10-5 and 16-4.

Game One:

Through two innings, the Bulldogs led 5-0. Josh Shelly recorded the first hit of the game in the first inning, a single, and made his way to third base on an error. Daniel Stewart put the team on top with a single that brought in Shelly, giving the team a 1-0 lead after the first. In the second inning, a hit by pitch and two walks loaded the bases for Tennessee Wesleyan. Chris Catalano took one runner off base with his sacrifice fly scoring Devin Dixon. Shelly unloaded the rest of the bases with a three-run home run bringing in Corbin Shaw and Kruise Newman.

Brewton-Parker scored three runs in the bottom of the third to cut the lead to two runs. Dixon hit a solo home run in the top of the fourth to make the score 6-3. Newman added another run in the inning, scoring from third on a passed ball after a walk and error got him to the other corner, giving the team a four-run advantage.

In the sixth inning, the Bulldogs added more runs to their score. This time, it was an inside-the-park home run by Shelly that Catalano also scored on, moving the team's lead to 9-3. The final run of the game for Tennessee Wesleyan came courtesy of a Kurtis Reid home run in the 10-5 first-game win.

Anthony Figueroa got the pitching win, striking out five batters in four innings. Shelly finished with two home runs and five RBIs.

Game Two:

Stewart got the Bulldogs on the board again in the first inning with Shelly scoring on his RBI ground out. The second inning asw Tennessee Wesleyan score three more runs. An error allowed Dixon to score from second while an error on Catalano's at-bat allowed Reid to score from second. A Kolton Reynold hit by pitch moved the team's lead to 4-0 as Shaw scored with the bases loaded. 

After two runs by Brewton-Parker in the second inning, the Bulldogs scored two runs in the fourth. Both came on errors as Catalano and Shelly both scored to move the lead to 6-2. The opponents matched the runs in the fourth though. TWU blew the game open in the sixth inning.

Dixon opened the inning with a solo bomb. With two runners on base, Catalano hit a single to right field, scoring Reid. Shelly followed with a single that brought in Shaw. Cody McGill came in to pinch-hit and blasted a ball over the wall, totaling three runs as Catalano and Shelly were still on base, moving the lead to 12-4.

The team scored three more of their 16 runs in the sixth inning. After a double to open the inning, Dixon scored on an error off Shaw's at-bat. A field's choice on Shelly's hit gave Reid the time to record another run while McGill got his fourth RBI of the game with a single that brought in Jacob Tolson. Nick Collins hit a single that brought in Jack Stevens to record the 16th run of the game for the Bulldogs.

McGill led the team with four RBIs. Cameron Goffar was credited with the win.

TWU (18-3, 8-1 AAC) goes back in conference play when they travel to face Johnson University for a three-game series. The first game of the series is set for Friday at 4:00 p.m.