BLUEFIELD, W.Va. — The West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats were on the road Wednesday for a non-conference doubleheader at Bowen Field, with Bluefield State claiming both ends of the twinbill by scores of 8-3 and 16-8. The Bobcats collected 17 total hits and scored 11 runs, but Bluefield State capitalized on key innings in both games to secure the sweep.
Bluefield State grabbed the lead in the bottom of the first when Nate Rollins walked, stole second and later scored on a Bobcat error. The hosts added another run in the second, then Wesleyan answered in the fourth. Dylan Neach opened the inning with a single, Isaac Lough walked, and after Chase Gora also drew a free pass, Cross lined a single through the left side to drive in both Neach and Lough, trimming the deficit to 2-2.
The game turned in the bottom half of the fourth. Nick Diaz opened the inning with a solo home run, and Bluefield State kept the pressure on from there. Rollins tripled home another run, Blake McKinney brought one in with a sacrifice bunt, and Edwin Hernandez added an RBI single as the Big Blues pushed across four runs in the frame to build a 6-2 advantage. Bluefield State later scored twice more in the sixth, including a steal of home by Rollins, to extend the margin to 8-2.
Wesleyan mounted one final push in the seventh. Grant Shumaker singled to start the inning, Segura doubled to left, and Dylan Neach followed with an RBI infield single to bring home Shumaker. That would be the Bobcats’ final run of game one. Along with Segura and Dylan Neach, Gora added a hit and a walk, while Lough reached base three times via walks and scored once.
The Bobcats finished with eight hits, led by Josiah Segura’s 3-for-4 performance, which included a pair of doubles, while Dylan Neach went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Coleman Cross supplied Wesleyan’s biggest swing of the game with a two-run single in the fourth.
Joshua Kapp earned the victory in relief for the Big Blues, tossing 2.2 innings and allowing one run on three hits while Bluefield State pulled away after the fourth inning. Davis Weppler was charged with the loss for Wesleyan after working two innings and giving up four runs on four hits.
Wesleyan struck first in the nightcap, using a sacrifice fly from Josiah Segura to plate Gora in the opening inning. Bluefield State answered immediately and decisively, however, as Nate Rollins led off the bottom of the first with a home run and Anderson Moreno followed later in the inning with a two-run homer. Bluefield State scored four times in the first and added two more in the second to seize a 6-1 lead.
The Bobcats chipped away behind Amezquita’s solo homer in the fourth and a two-run fifth. In that fifth inning, Gora singled, Matthew Neach followed with a base hit, and Smith delivered an RBI single before Segura lifted his second sacrifice fly of the game to bring Wesleyan within 9-4. The Bobcats also scored twice in the sixth on a Bluefield State error and twice more in the seventh when Amezquita doubled home Dylan Neach and Hank Humbert.
But each Wesleyan rally was met by another Bluefield State response. The hosts scored three in the fourth, four in the fifth, and three more in the sixth. Rollins fueled the attack by going 3-for-3 with a homer, double, three runs scored and two RBIs, while McKinney drove in four runs and Moreno added three RBIs of his own.
Wesleyan scored in five of the seven innings and produced nine hits, but Bluefield State answered with multiple crooked numbers in a 16-8 win. Chase Gora went 2-for-4 and scored twice, Matthew Neach finished 2-for-3 with a run scored, and Adrian Amezquita turned in the top power performance for the Bobcats, going 2-for-4 with a home run, double and three RBIs. Alex Smith also contributed a hit, two walks and an RBI, while Grant Shumaker drove in two runs.
Jack Sams picked up the win after throwing 4.1 innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits while striking out six. Cullen Cairns took the loss for the Bobcats in the nightcap, surrendering six runs, five earned, over the first two innings.
Across the doubleheader, Wesleyan got productive days from several bats. Segura totaled four hits in game one and game two combined scoring opportunities with three RBIs on the day, Gora reached base multiple times in both contests, Dylan Neach drove in runs in each game, and Amezquita delivered the Bobcats’ lone home run of the twinbill in the nightcap.
