GREENWOOD, Ind. – Both Trevecca Nazarene and Salem International look to shake off the effects from a tough weekend while Kentucky Wesleyan joins the mix this week around the Great Midwest Athletic Conference baseball landscape.
TNU welcomes Maryville for a three-game home series, KWC heads to North Greenville University and Salem International faces Erskine College.
The Trojans grabbed the first G-MAC Player of the Week honor after Hunter Newman’s offensive splash included three home runs and eight RBI. SIU had the G-MAC Pitcher of the Week with promising rookie Kevin Ortiz-Arroyo turning in a seven-inning gem.
Standings | Composite Schedule | Season Stats
Friday, Feb. 13
Erskine def. Salem International (0-7), 8-1
Box Score
Early-season struggles persisted for Salem International against the Flying Fleet despite G-MAC Pitcher of the Week Kevin Ortiz-Arroyo toeing the rubber. SIU's offense was limited to just one hit in the series opener even with Ortiz lasting for six full innings. Center fielder Joe Drago drove in the lone run of the game for the Tigers after back-to-back walks were drawn with one out in the fifth inning.
Erskine improved to 6-0 on the spring, manufacturing eight runs on 15 hits.
Maryville def. Trevecca Nazarene (0-4), 9-4
Box Score
The Saints played the role of spoiler for Trevecca Nazarene's home opener despite another eye-opening day from current G-MAC Player of the Week Hunter Newman. The junior third baseman crushed his fourth home run in as many games while upping an already gaudy slash line to .667/.772/1.667. Newman was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate and while the Trojans looked well on their way to secure their first win of the spring, Maryville overcame a three-run deficit after the third inning.
Maryville leadoff hitter Yoonjae Nam slugged a grand slam while Tyler Omlind tossed 6.1 innings and struck out nine to earn the winning decision.
Kentucky Wesleyan (1-0) def. North Greenville, 6-4
Box Score
Catcher Josh Galvan homered on opening day for Kentucky Wesleyan, three players had multi-hit games and right-handed starter Matt Pobereyko struck out eight on the mound. Austin Tibbs shut the door with 3.1 scoreless innings for the save. The KWC offense pieced together a three-run second inning, including an RBI double from Josh Vance and another run-scoring hit from Dennon Koziol that gave the Panthers a 4-0 cushion. Koziol, Johnathan Eberhardt and Troy Paris, each recorded a pair of hits.
Saturday, Feb. 14
Erskine def. Salem International (0-8), 13-1
Game 1 (DH) | Box Score
The Flying Fleet roughed up Salem International starter Dolan Kunkel, who was chased after 2.1 innings as the starter. SIU was able to scatter seven hits offensively, including two each from Cody Whitmer and Emmanuel Dominguez, but were unable to come up with the timely hit. The Tigers left the bases juiced in the fourth after three singles against Erskine starter Luke Crumley. Three of Erskine's 16 hits went for extra bases and the Flying Fleet erupted for eight runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Erskine def. Salem International (0-9), 14-1
Game 2 (DH) | Box Score
Leadoff hitter Brandon Overstreet was a home run shy of the cycle as the Flying Fleet completed the weekend sweep in a nine-inning affair to close out Saturday's doubleheader. Overstreet was 3-for-5 with four RBI and Logan Galliher was 4-for-5 with three more runs batted in at the cleanup spot. Erskine managed to score in every inning but one as Austin Gambrell went the minimum five innings for the winning decision. The top three hitters for SIU in order had a hit and Aaron Alderman also singled.
Trevecca Nazarene (1-4) def. Maryville, 18-7
Game 1 (DH) | Box Score
In his first game of the spring, Tyler Burns had a banner day at the plate in six perfect plate appaearances, including two unofficial at-bats as the Trojans broke in the win column. Burns tripled and was 4-for-4 with six RBI with three runs scored. Tyler Tichenor homered and was 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI as the Trojans opened up the offense with 18 hits. Maryville's hero on Friday, Yoonjae Nam, homered again, as part of the Saints' 15 hits. Michael Purcell orchestrated his first win of the season, striking out six in five innings pitched. Carter Wiseman scored five times for Trevecca and Hunter Newman had two more hits and a sacrifice fly while driving in four. Chad Sutton was 3-for-5 and crossed home plate four times.
Maryville def. Trevecca Nazarene (1-5), 12-10
Game 2 (DH) | Box Score
Another high-scoring affair ensued between the Saints the Trojans as Maryville eventually won two out of three in the weekend series. Hunter Newman was 4-for-4 and has a staggering .667 average through six games, starting 16-of-24 at the plate. Chad Sutton crushed a home run to cap a monster series and TNU had 17 hits to Maryville's 15. After falling behind 3-0 in the third, the Trojans stormed back with eight runs in the fourth, but couldn't protect the lead late.
North Greenville def. Kentucky Wesleyan (1-1), 11-1
Game 1 (DH) | Box Score
After winning Friday's season opener, Kentucky Wesleyan had one rough inning against North Greenville that proved pivotal towards the final decision. The Crusaders scored all 11 runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, overcoming an early go-ahead run by KWC in the top of the third. A bases-clearing triple punctuated the six-hit inning for North Greenville. Johnathan Eberhardt and Troy Paris each had a pair of hits for the Panthers.
North Greenville def. Kentucky Wesleyan (1-2), 6-3
Game 2 (DH) | Box Score
Johnathan Eberhardt is now second in the conference in batting average early in the season after piecing together a 5-for-11 series effort against the Crusaders' pitching staff. He doubled and the Panthers roared back with three runs in the seventh, but it was too little too late. North Greenville completed the series win and doubleheader sweep with another key inning, this time a five-run fourth inning.