The Virginia Wesleyan baseball team (5-20-1, 4-8-1 ODAC) split their doubleheader with the Averett University Cougars, game 1 being a 2-4 loss and game 2 being a 13-8 win.
Game One:
The Marlins struck in the bottom of the first as Michael Burton Jr. hit a lead-off single through the left side, stole second, and moved to third off a groundout from Matt Sinko. Then, Connor Hall hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Burton.
The Cougars answered with three runs in the top of the second to make it 3-1.
In the fourth, Burton singled to center field to get on base then, stole second before Hines singled to left field to cut the Cougars' lead down to 3-2.
In the eighth, the Cougars added one more run for what would be the final score of 4-2.
Michael Burton Jr. went 2-for-4, scored two runs, and two stolen bases, Connor Hall went 1-for-3 with one RBI and a walk, and Jaelen Hines went 1-for-3 with one RBI, and one stolen base.
Cam Nolet started for the Marlins, pitched seven innings, allowed five hits, four runs, walked four batters, and struck out seven. Sal Lettieri pitched 1.2 innings in relief, allowed no hits or runs, and struck out two batters.
Game Two:
The Marlins got on the board in the first as Jaelen Hines singled through the right side, advanced to second with a single from Connor Hall, and reached third on an error by the right fielder. Hines scored on a wild pitch to give the Marlins a 1-0 lead.
In the second, the Marlins scored five runs to take a commanding 6-0 lead. Samuel Kasprow singled to begin the rally, followed by Ryan Ballard getting hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Michael Burton Jr. singled to right field to score Kasprow from second. With runners on the corners, Jaelen Hines singled up the middle to score Ballard. Then, Matt Sinko hit a three-run home run to left field that scored Michael Burton Jr. and Jaelen Hines.
In the second inning, Michael Burton Jr. singled to right field and scored Sam Kasprow. Jaelen Hines singled up the middle to score Ryan Ballard. Then, Matt Sinko hit a three-run home run to left field that scored Michael Burton Jr. and Jaelen Hines to make the score 6-0.
The Cougars scored a run in the third to cut it to a five-run game, but the Marlins answered in the bottom of the inning as Trent Hanchey hit a lead-off double and stole third. Before, Tanner Clements singled through the left side to score Trent Hanchey. Sam Kasprow singled through the left side to advance Clement to second. Ballard walked to move Kasprow to second and advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt. Kasprow scored on a wild pitch. With runners on the corners, Burton hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Ballard and give Virginia Wesleyan a 9-1 lead.
The Cougars answered with a run in the fourth and scored four runs in the fifth inning to make the score 9-6.
Virginia Wesleyan added two runs in the sixth, extending their lead to 11-8. Hines started the inning with a single and advanced to second on a ground out to the third base. Connor Hall doubled to right field to score Hines. Then, Trent Hanchey doubled and scored Hall.
The Marlins scored two more runs in the eighth as Matt Sinko hit a lead-off single followed by a single from Hall and Hanchey to load the bases for Tanner Clements who hit a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Sinko. With runners on second and third Kasprow flew out to center field to score Hall and take a 13-8 lead to put the game out of reach for the Cougars.
Matt Sinko went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI courtesy of a three-run homer. Michael Burton Jr. also went 2-for-4 with one run and two RBIs scored.
Micah Fox got the win as he pitched 5.0 innings for the Marlins, allowed six hits, and six runs, and struck out one. In relief, Ian Brady pitched two innings and allowed zero hits and zero runs, gave up one walk, and tallied two strikeouts.
