MASON, Ohio – The Kentucky Wesleyan College baseball team was on the edge of advancing quickly into the semifinals on Thursday afternoon, but for a late inning comeback by the top-seed Trevecca forced the Panthers into an elimination game. The Trojans defeated Wesleyan 6-5 in the afternoon. The Panthers were then dominate in the night-cap as they eliminated Ohio Dominican 11-4 to reach the semifinals of the Great Midwest Conference Tournament Championship.
 
GAME 1: TNU 6, KWC 5
The Trojans (30-10) threatened in the bottom of the first. With two outs they put together a pair of hits that scored two runs. Trevecca eventually loaded the bases in the frame, but CJ Fairchild pitched his way out of the jam. After the hiccup in the first Fairchild found a grove and hung zeros on the scoreboard.
 
The Panthers (24-15) made it a new ball game in the fourth as Chase Andrews walked and scored from first on a double by Brayden Sisson. An error allowed Sisson to reach third on the play and he scored on Robert Chayka's sacrifice fly.
 
In the fifth the Panthers roared into the lead as they continued to apply pressure. Cody Bridges led-off by being hit and Lane Kennemore reached on a throwing error as he attempted to bunt Bridges into scoring position. Joseph Burke doubled-in Bridges to give the Panthers a 3-2 lead.
 
The rally did not stop there as Ian Ellis drove in another run with a sacrifice fly. Andrews followed with a single that scored Burke, giving the Panthers a 5-2 lead. The three-run lead was shot lived as a pair of errors allowed the Trojans to get two runs back in the bottom of the inning.
 
Ryland Thomas took over for Fairchild in the seventh and struck-out the side. In the eighth the Trojans had the tying run aboard and in scoring position with two outs. Thomas placed an 0-2 pitch low away as Shawn Wallwork got the end of the bat on the ball and drove a double into leftfield to tie the game. A two-out single followed to give Trevecca a 6-5 lead.
 
In the ninth, the Trojans were in the right spot defensively to stop the Panthers from extending the inning. Fairchild pitched six complete innings allowing four runs, two earned on eight hits with five strikeouts. Sisson was two for four with a double and RBI. Burke was also two for four with a double and RBI. Burked tied the G-MAC record with his 190^th career RBI.
 
GAME 2: KWC 11, ODU 4
The bats came alive in the elimination game as Seth Wright came-up big in his first Pracso Park moment. On the biggest stage of the Great Midwest season, Wright quieted the ODU bats.
 
Right from the start the Panthers led as Ellis drove in the first run of the game with a sacrifice fly. In the fourth Hunter Combs gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead as he drove-in Sisson with an RBI single.
 
Wright pitched 5.1 innings allowing two runs on four hits with seven strikeouts. The Panthers erupted for five runs in the top of the sixth. With two on and one out, Kennemore produced an RBI single. After a pitching change, Burke and Ellis were hit to load the bases. A well-placed single by Andrews added another run while Sisson walked to force in another run. In total the Panthers scored five runs on four hits and an error to take a 7-0 lead.
 
ODU scored two runs in the bottom half of the innings, but the Panthers tacked on four more runs in the eighth. Bridges and Kennemore each finished with three hits. Combs was two for five with a double and three RBIs.
 
Half the Tournament field was eliminated on Thursday as the Panthers advanced to the semifinals. Four teams remain vying for the G-MAC Title. Wesleyan will play Tiffin in an elimination game on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 11:30 AM CT.
 
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