ATHENS, Tenn. – In a battle of two of the best baseball teams in the country, each team came away with a win as No. 17 IU Southeast and No. 1 Tennessee Wesleyan opened their four-game set on Friday.
IU Southeast scored first in game one. After singles by
Logan Beard and
Preston Shelton, a hard-hit ball by
Jack Ellis evaded the Tennessee Wesleyan infield and allowed Beard to come home and score to make it 1-0 Grenadiers.
In the top of the third,
Preston Shelton doubled, and
Jack Ellis walked to give IU Southeast runners on first and second with one out. A
Logan Murphy double scored Shelton to give IU Southeast a 2-0 lead, but Ellis was thrown out at the plate for the second out of the inning.
Tennessee Wesleyan scored a run in the bottom of the third on an error and a single to cut the Grenadier lead to 2-1.
The scored remained 2-1 until the bottom of the sixth. A double and a home run to open the inning gave Tennessee Wesleyan a 3-2 lead. A solo home run in the bottom of the seventh made it 4-2 Bulldogs.
Tennessee Wesleyan scored four more runs in the bottom of the eighth en route to an 8-2 victory in game one.
Preston Shelton led IU Southeast with three hits, and
Logan Beard added two.
Logan Murphy and
Jack Ellis each had an RBI. Shelton, Murphy, and
Grant Shepherd each doubled.
Connor Sims took the loss for IU Southeast, allowing three runs (two earned) in six innings while striking out four.
Luke Shelton,
Aiden Darlage, and
Conner Christopher V each threw in relief.
Game two remaining scoreless until the top of the third.
Ethan Burdette and
Nolan Bowser both singled, and
Logan Beard followed with an RBI double to score Burdette and give IU Southeast a 1-0 lead. The Grenadiers had the bases loaded, but Tennessee Wesleyan got out of the inning allowing just the one run.
Logan Murphy led off the top of the fourth with a walk, and pinch runner
Grant Shepherd stole second.
Colin Long followed with an RBI triple to score Shepherd and give IU Southeast a 2-0 lead. A sacrifice fly by
Cole Reynolds scored Long to make it 3-0 Grenadiers.
Tennessee Wesleyan got one back in the bottom of the fourth on a double and two groundouts to make it 3-1.
Logan Beard led off the top of the fifth with a double, and after a flyout and a strikeout, both
Jack Ellis and
Logan Murphy walked to load the bases.
Colin Long followed with a two-out bases clearing double to extend the Grenadier lead to 6-1.
Tennessee Wesleyan hit two solo home runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut the IU Southeast lead to 6-3, but
Nick Pazos came in in relief to end the sixth.
Tennessee Wesleyan put a runner on second in the final inning, but Pazos slammed the door on the Bulldogs to give IU Southeast a 6-3 win in seven innings.
Logan Beard,
Colin Long, and
Ethan Burdette each had two hits in the win. Long led IU Southeast with four RBI. Beard and
Cole Reynolds each drove in a run. Beard and Long both doubled, and Long also tripled.
Logan Murphy and
Grant Shepherd each stole a base.
Luca Sandrella got the start and the win for IU Southeast, allowing three runs in 5.1 innings of work while striking out one.
Nick Pazos picked up the save, throwing 1.2 scoreless innings while striking out two.
"All around competitive today even though we lost the lead in game one," IU Southeast head coach
Brett Neffendorf said. "The pitching made a big stride today by limiting free bases. Our offense hit in some big moments in game two as well."
No. 17 IU Southeast looks to continue their momentum as they close out their four-game set with No. 1 Tennessee Wesleyan with a doubleheader on Saturday.
