Cedarville, Ohio – The Kentucky Wesleyan baseball team dropped the final two games of the series at Cedarville on Saturday afternoon, ultimately splitting the four-game set 2-2.
The Panthers fell to 19-19 overall and 12-10 in the G-MAC, while the Yellow Jackets improved to 17-24 and 10-14 in the conference.
After both teams went scoreless through the first two innings of Game 3, Wesleyan got on the board first in the top of the third. Elijah Stockton and Jase Mizell each singled to set up Rhett Dysholm with two outs, and the designated hitter came through with his own single to drive in Stockton and give the Panthers a 1-0 advantage.
Cedarville had a quick response. The Yellow Jackets used several singles and a double to tack on three runs in the bottom half of the third, taking the lead at 3-1.
The Panthers got a run back in the fourth after Cade Gudalis walked and Stockton doubled to score him, but Cedarville again stole the momentum back in the bottom half, adding two more runs to increase their lead to 5-2.
The Yellow Jackets were able to hold the Panthers at bay the rest of the way in the 5-3 defeat, with Wesleyan tallying their additional run in the top of the sixth on another Stockton RBI double after a Tate VanHooser walk.
With Wesleyan looking to take the series in Game 4, the Panthers again recorded the game's first run, this time in the top of the first. Liam Hutson and Mizell both worked walks before a double play put Hutson on third with two outs. Reece Davis came up next and reached first on a throwing error, allowing Hutson to score and giving Wesleyan a 1-0 lead.
After Cedarville scored two runs in the bottom half of the first, the scoring was silent until the top of the fifth. Gudalis doubled and Stockton continued his massive day with a home run over the left center wall, his first of the 2025 campaign, to give Wesleyan the lead back at 3-2.
Logan Molnar came up next and singled, Hutson laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Molnar to second, and Mizell delivered with a single to score Molnar and double the Panthers advantage at 4-2.
Panthers starter Josh Tucker (6.0 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 6 SO) had a strong day, limiting Cedarville until his exit after six innings. Cedarville attacked the Panthers bullpen immediately, scoring three in the bottom of the seventh to steal the lead at 5-4.
The Yellow Jackets added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, and the Panthers were unable to rally in the 6-4 loss.
The Panthers next return to action on Tuesday, April 22, for a doubleheader vs. McKendree at 12:00 PM at Panther Park.
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