Eagles Let Lead Slip in Game One with Tennessee Wesleyan

Athens, TN - Reinhardt Baseball has had a great season so far with tremendous hitting from multiple players that can put the ball out of the park at any time. The pitching has been coming around as well this season and the combination of the two has produced a great conference record.

The Eagles are currently in third place in the AAC just behind Bryan College and the conference leader, Tennessee Wesleyan. The Bulldogs of Tennessee Wesleyan are currently ranked #3 in the country so this weekend's series between the Eagles and Bulldogs has all eyes watching to see how the conference standings shape out as the 2023 regular season comes to a close in a couple of weeks.

In game one, the Eagles realized that you have to be on the top of your game for a full nine innings to take down a powerful ball club like Tennessee Wesleyan. The Eagles had the lead a majority of the game, but the Bulldogs chipped away at the lead starting in the third inning and then opened the floodgates in the seventh and eighth to put the game away. Wesleyan would go on to win game one, 11-5.

Richard Castro got the Eagles going early in the first inning by cranking one out of the park and getting Tucker Zdunich home for the 2-0 lead.  The 2-0 lead would last to the fourth inning until the Bulldogs tied things up 2-2. Tennessee Wesleyan would take the lead in the fourth, 3-2, and then add one more in the fifth to make the lead, 4-2.

The Eagles would fight back in the sixth on a solo homer by Nash Crowell and then a run scored by Castro on a fielder's choice play getting the game tied again at 4-4. Zach Rabe would single to left a few bats later to allow the Eagles to take the lead once more. The Bulldogs would tie the game once again in the bottom of the sixth and then the bats went silent for the Eagles the rest of the way.

Ethan Foley got the start in game one for the Eagles and pitched a decent game, but he did allow Tennessee Wesleyan to creep back into the game by allowing the single runs in the third through sixth innings. Foley recorded two strikeouts in his six innings of work, but he allowed nine hits and four runs. Foley would leave the game after the sixth with the game tied and he would be relieved by Parker Miller in the seventh. 

Miller has had some very good innings for the Eagles lately, but the Bulldogs have a great lineup and can generate runs a little at a time or get them in bunches.  The seventh and eighth innings would be two of the innings where they got their runs in bunches as they would get seven runs on the board in the final two innings. Miller did have 2 strikeouts in his two innings, but the seven runs scored were too much for the Eagles to work their way back into the game. 

Reinhardt Pitching vs TN Wesleyan (GAME ONE)

The Eagles will hopefully learn from this game and have a great Saturday in the doubleheader where they could still take the series. Expect Andrew Herbert and Jordan Hampton to get the starts in the doubleheader. Both of these pitchers have had a good season and Herbert is currently the top pitcher for the Eagles.  The bats of the Eagles are just as powerful as Tennessee Wesleyan so look for the Eagles to really battle for the series on Saturday.