PENSACOLA, FL – The Nebraska Wesleyan University baseball team (4-7) held off Carroll University, 7-4, on Saturday afternoon thanks to a five run third inning.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was all Prairie Wolves early on, leading 7-0 after three innings. Owen Duckworth got the scoring started with an RBI-sacrifice fly to left that plated Jaxon Volkmer. Brady Bell then reached on an error by the first baseman and Jake Shedarowich scored to make it 2-0.
The next five runs came in the third inning. The Prairie Wolves opened the inning with three straight singles from Volkmer, Duncan Ortega, and Easton Johnson to load the bases. The first run came on an RBI groundout from Duckworth to score Volkmer before Shedarowich walked to re-load the bases and Sam Schefer reached on an error for an early 4-0 advantage.
Eli Eldred got his first RBI of the year as he was hit by a pitch that brought in Johnson.
Following a Bell sacrifice fly that scored Shedarowich, Cohle Sherman reached on an error that plated Shaefer to round out the Prairie Wolves scoring leading 7-0 after three.
The Pioneers came right back and got three runs in the top of the fifth. An RBI single and a two-run home run gave the Pioneers hope.
Carroll got one more run in the eighth with an RBI bases loaded walk. Bell then finished off the win with a save in a scoreless ninth.
Shedarowich and Volkmer reached base a total of five times with four runs scored from the top of the order.
Caleb DeWitt got the start and struck out three across four and two-thirds innings. Drake Venema pitched around some walks to keep the Pioneers at hand. Ryan Johnson pitched a clean seventh before running into trouble in the eighth. Bell came in to secure the save. Venema got his first collegiate win.
UP NEXT
Nebraska Wesleyan plays another single game tomorrow morning at 7 p.m. as they play Edgewood College in their final game of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos Challenge.
