LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Wesleyan baseball team (12-23, 7-12 A-R-C) dropped an 11-0 decision to Coe (22-12, 12-7 A-R-C) in American Rivers Conference action Friday night at Championship Stadium.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Coe jumped on the board in the top of the first inning. Jon Wille doubled to center and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Eli Elsbecker was hit by pitch, and with two men on, Elsbecker and Wille executed a double steal, Wille swiping home, to put the Kohawks up 1-0.
Nebraska Wesleyan threatened in the bottom of the first when
Duncan Ortega singled through the right side, but Coe's Xander Cloudy worked out of the jam to strand the runner. The Prairie Wolves managed baserunners in the third inning, with
Jaxon Volkmer drawing a walk and
Brayden Harvey reaching on a fielder's choice, but Cloudy shut the door again.
Brady Bell's double to left in the fourth gave NWU their best scoring chance of the game, but
Cohle Sherman struck out to end the threat.
Coe broke the game open in the fifth with four runs. Isaiah Espey led off with a triple through the right side, Ryan Brosius plated him with a groundout RBI, and Will Hosch then singled to short. After a Jake Mitchell sacrifice bunt, Ryan Thoreson was hit by pitch to load the bases. Jon Wille delivered a two-out single through the left side to score Hosch, and Eli Elsbecker followed with a single that scored two more, including one on a throwing error, to push the lead to 5-0. Coe tacked on a run in the sixth when Brent Yonkovic stole third and scored on a catcher's error to make it 6-0.
The Kohawks poured it on in the seventh with five runs. Jon Wille singled to center, Elsbecker was hit by pitch and Louis Smelcer walked to load the bases. Yonkovic singled through the left to score Wille, then Isaiah Espey was hit by pitch for an RBI, and Ryan Brosius singled to plate another. A wild pitch scored Yonkovic before Ryan Thoreson's sacrifice fly capped the scoring at 11-0.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Coe's Xander Cloudy was masterful on the mound, tossing a complete-game shutout over 7.0 innings, holding NWU to just two hits with three strikeouts.
- Jon Wille paced the Coe offense, going 3-for-5 with three runs scored and a double.
- Isaiah Espey added a triple, two runs scored and an RBI for the Kohawks.
- Brady Bell's double to left in the fourth inning accounted for one of Nebraska Wesleyan's two hits on the night.
- NWU starter Trevor Storer allowed seven earned runs over 5.1 innings before being relieved by Dominic Sis, Trent Herrboldt and Dominic Bentley.
UP NEXT:
Nebraska Wesleyan returns to action Saturday, April 25, when it continues games two and three of the series against Coe, starting at 11:00 AM.
