WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — West Virginia Wesleyan baseball continued its spring break stretch in Central Florida with a pair of competitive outings at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational, falling 3–2 to Concordia–St. Paul before battling in an 11–5 setback to Jamestown.
The baseball team turned in a strong day on Thursday, sweeping a doubleheader from St. Michael’s at Lake Myrtle Main Field. The Bobcats opened the day with a 7–3 victory before rallying late to claim a 5–4 win in the nightcap.
Concordia–St. Paul 3, West Virginia Wesleyan 2
Wesleyan’s opener at Chain of Lakes Park evolved into a tight pitching duel, with the Bobcats nearly engineering a late comeback after trailing most of the afternoon.
Concordia–St. Paul opened the scoring immediately, using a one-out triple from Gus Berger followed by a Charlie Harms RBI single to take a 1–0 edge in the first. Starting pitcher Drake Long settled in after the first-inning traffic, producing three straight scoreless frames and retiring the side in order in the third.
Long was steady throughout his 6.0 innings, scattering seven hits while striking out two and allowing just three earned runs.
The Golden Bears extended their lead to 3–0 in the fifth, but the Bobcats broke through an inning later. A defensive miscue opened the door, and Wesleyan capitalized. Grant Smith reached on an error then Matthew Neach walked in a pinch-hit appearance. Isaac Lough followed with another walk to load the bases.
A fielder’s-choice grounder by Carter Collins brought home Smith for WVWC’s first run, and Adrian Amezquita then pushed across another on a fielder’s choice, slicing the deficit to 3–2.
Reliever Nolan Slaughter kept the game in reach with three strong innings, allowing just one hit and no runs while striking out two.
Wesleyan mounted one last push in the ninth when Jamison Smith ripped a leadoff double to left and advanced to third on a sacrifice. A single from Coleman Cross put the winning run on base, and pinch-runner Dylan Neach immediately stole second to set up a dramatic finish. However, CSP closer Liam Bystol induced a pop-up and flyout to strand the tying and winning runs aboard.
Game 2: Jamestown 11, West Virginia Wesleyan 5
The Bobcats responded in the second game with a productive offensive inning, plating four runs in the third and finishing with 14 hits—a season high. But a decisive Jamestown rally in the seventh ultimately tilted the game.
Jamestown manufactured runs in each of the first two innings, taking a 3–0 advantage through two via a combination of stolen bases, walks, and a sacrifice fly. Wesleyan starter Andrew Napoleon weathered the early pressure and went on to deliver six effective innings, striking out four and allowing just four hits.
The Bobcats roared to life in the third, sending eight men to the plate and collecting six hits. Alex Smith led off with a double to ignite the rally. Ronny Dinzey and Malik Wood followed with back-to-back singles to load the bases. Coleman Cross delivered a two-RBI single to right, tying the game 2–2. Grant Shumaker added an RBI single. And Matthew Neach capped the surge with an RBI base hit to center, pushing Wesleyan ahead 4–3.
Cross, who finished 3-for-5, added a stolen base in the frame as the Bobcats seized momentum.
The Bobcats extended their lead to 5–3 in the fourth when Smith singled and later scored on a well-executed sacrifice bunt by Wood.
Napoleon protected the lead through six, allowing only two baserunners across the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings.
The game flipped dramatically in the bottom of the seventh. After Napoleon exited for reliever Adiel Rivera, Jamestown strung together five hits, forcing two hit-by-pitches and capitalizing on a defensive error to plate eight runs. The inning was highlighted by an inside-the-park three-run homer from Jacob Thomas, turning a 5–3 Bobcat lead into an 11–5 Jamestown advantage and eventual win.
West Virginia Wesleyan 7 – St. Michael’s 3
The Bobcats used timely hitting and a steady pitching performance from Anthony Hernandez to take the opener of the doubleheader.
Wesleyan struck first in the bottom of the first inning. After Coleman Cross reached on a single and advanced into scoring position, Matthew Neach drove him in with an RBI groundout to give the Bobcats an early 1–0 advantage.
The Bobcats added two more runs in the second inning with the help of St. Michael’s defensive miscues. A passed ball allowed Isaac Lough to score before Malik Wood pushed another run across with a sacrifice bunt that brought home Carter Collins for a 3–0 lead.
St. Michael’s cut into the lead in the fourth when Trevor Arsenault doubled to center field to score Josh Ayala and make it 3–1. Wesleyan responded immediately in the bottom half with its biggest inning of the game.
Adrian Amezquita delivered an RBI double to score Collins, and Coleman Cross followed with an RBI single to extend the lead. Another run came home on a balk as the Bobcats stretched the advantage to 6–1.
The Purple Knights scored once in the fifth and again in the seventh, but the Bobcats answered in the fifth when Isaac Lough singled home Matthew Neach to keep the margin comfortable at 7–2 before closing out the 7–3 victory.
Cross led the Wesleyan offense with two hits and two runs scored, while Neach, Lough, Amezquita, and Wood each recorded an RBI.
On the mound, Anthony Hernandez earned the win, working 6.2 innings while allowing three runs (one earned) on eight hits with five strikeouts. Austin Mann came on to record the final out and collect the save.
West Virginia Wesleyan 5 – St. Michael’s 4
The Bobcats rallied from an early deficit in the second game and scored the go-ahead run in the final inning to complete the sweep.
St. Michael’s jumped out to an early lead in the first inning when Max Kolifrath doubled home Jack Pattison for a 1–0 advantage. The Purple Knights extended the lead to 4–0 in the second after a combination of hits, a stolen base, and a throwing error allowed three runs to cross the plate.
Wesleyan began its comeback in the fourth inning. Grant Shumaker reached on an error before Matthew Neach singled to put runners on the corners. Dylan Neach then delivered the big hit of the inning, lining a two-run single to left field to bring the Bobcats within two. Malik Wood followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Drew Jrolf, trimming the deficit to 4–3.
The Bobcats tied the game in the fifth when Jamison Smith reached and eventually scored on Isaac Lough’s sacrifice fly to even the score at 4–4.
The decisive run came in the seventh. Coleman Cross led off with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. During the ensuing sequence, a passed ball allowed Cross to race home with the go-ahead run, giving Wesleyan a 5–4 lead.
Starting pitcher Alex Hernandez made the lead stand, retiring the Purple Knights in order in the bottom of the seventh to complete a strong outing. Hernandez worked the full seven innings, allowing four runs on eight hits while striking out nine batters to earn the victory.
Coleman Cross paced the Bobcat offense with three hits and a run scored, while Dylan Neach drove in two runs in the comeback effort.
