NW Kentucky News

Baseball sweeps weekend series vs. Fairmont State

The Kentucky Wesleyan Baseball team (4-6) got back on track in a big way this weekend, sweeping Fairmont State (1-6) 7-3, 4-2, 12-2 in a three-game series. The Panthers hit an incredible seven home runs over the course of three games, and they were led by senior Zach Curtis, who hit one home run in all three games. 

Game One

Kentucky Wesleyan used big plays to take down the Fighting Falcons 7-3 in game one. After a scoreless first inning, Zach Burtis and Bryce Zupan got things going with solo home runs in the second. 

After a Fairmont State run in the fourth, Cameron Langston answered with an RBI triple in the fourth to score Gabriel Medina. Zupan hit his second home run of the game in the same inning to score Langston and make it a 5-1 game. 

Wesleyan got two more runs in the fifth thanks to a Curtis RBI triple and a Medina RBI groundout. 

The Panthers outhit the Falcons 13-5 in the game, and were led by two hits from Zach Curtis, Gabriel Medina, Bryce Zupan, and Cade Gudalis. 

Nick Judd (1-1) was incredible on the mound, striking out seven and only allowing three hits in eight innings of work to get the big win. 

Game Two

Wesleyan opened up game two with some small ball, as a Kyle Werries flyout to center scored Sammy Rowan for the game's first run. Jaret Humphrey then took advantage of a Fairmont State miscue at first, scoring on the error to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead after the opening inning. 

Sammy Rowan showed off his power in the third inning, hitting a solo blast to put the Panthers up 3-0. 

Fairmont State scored two in the fourth to keep it close, but Curtis hit his second home run of the weekend in the sixth inning to give the game it's final 4-2 score. 

Zach Curtis led the team by going 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored. 

Despite only having three hits, Wesleyan was able to get the win, thanks in part to the strong pitching performance from Evan Oakley (1-0). Oakley went all seven innings, striking out 10 while only allowing four hits and two runs in the process. 

Game Three

Wesleyan opened game three up with a bang, as Zach Curtis, Cameron Langston, and Kyle Werries hit home runs in back-to-back-to-back innings to quickly give the Panthers a 5-0 lead. FSU got two back in the fourth thanks to a home run of their own, but a big fifth inning from Wesleyan quickly put a stop to any momentum Fairmont State might have had. 

Cameron Langston hit a 2-RBI single to score Braxton French and Zach Curtis, then Bryce Zupan hit an RBI single two batters later to make it an 8-2 game. Aric Lyons hit a 2-RBI triple a few batters later, then scored on the next play thanks to an error by the shortstop. 

Langston hit an RBI signle in the eighth to give Wesleyan their final score of the game, making it 12-2. 

Aric Lyons balled out at the plate, going 4-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBI's. Cameron Langston also was strong, going 3-for-5 with four RBI's and two runs scored. Kyle Werries and Zach Curtis each had two hits of their own, with Werries tallying three RBI's and Curtis notching two. 

Brayden Bush (1-1) was lights out for the Panthers, allowing just three hits and two runs in 5.2 innings of work, all while striking out nine batters. Josh Tucker finished the job with a hitless final 2.1 innings of work. 

The Panthers have now won four of their last five games, and lead the G-MAC in home runs with 13. Zach Curtis currently sits a No. 1 in the conference with five home runs, and is second with 13 RBI's and 15 hits. Not to be outdone, Aric Lyons ranks first with 11 runs scored. 

In just 13.2 innings of work, Evan Oakley ranks second in the G-MAC with 19 strikeouts, all while boasting a 1.98 ERA. 

Wesleyan has 10 days before they travel to Florida to take on Florida Southern and Saint Leo in some Sunshine State action. They take on Florida Southern on Monday, March 6  at 5 p.m. CT. 

Original source can be found here.