After rallying to win game one 2-1, the Centre College baseball team tied game two in the bottom of the seventh and scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch in the eighth to sweep a doubleheader from Wheaton College Saturday, Feb. 22 at Gary Wright Field in Danville, Ky.
The two wins are the first of the season for the Colonels as they improve to 2-3, while the Thunder fall to 1-2.
Pitching and defense ruled the day for both teams. Wheaton scored an unearned run in the third inning of game one to take a 1-0 lead.
With two outs in the sixth, senior Kyle Cook (Maineville, Ohio) singled. Freshman Alex Richardson (Mt. Washington, Ky.) walked, and freshman Andrew Olson (Louisville, Ky.) collected his first collegiate hit, an RBI double down the left field line to tie the game at 1-1.
The Colonels went ahead in the bottom of the eighth. With two outs again, sophomore Sam Spees (Dayton, Ohio) walked and stole second base. Sophomore Jake Johnson (Louisville, Ky.) then delivered a run-scoring single to left field to give Centre its first lead at 2-1.
Senior pitcher Kyle Neu (Cincinnati, Ohio) did the rest as the right-hander tossed his first complete game of the season to improve to 1-1. Neu allowed only an unearned run on five hits with seven strikeouts and no walks.
Cook, Johnson and Olson accounted for all six of the Colonels' hits in the game. Cook went 3-for-3 with a run scored. Johnson was 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Olson had the game-tying double.
Game two was much like the first as both teams struggled to get anything going offensively. It took until the seventh inning for anyone to score as the Thunder broke through with a run off freshman reliever Alex Edwards (Goshen, Ohio) to take a 1-0 lead.
That lead quickly disappeared in the home half of the seventh when Cook led off the inning with a game-tying, opposite field home run to right field.
Following a scoreless top of the eighth, junior Trey Litsey (Louisville, Ky.) drew a one-out walk. Freshman Trevor Brewer (Bowling Green, Ky.) then singled to right. A fielders' choice put runners at first and third with two outs, and a wild pitch allowed Litsey to score for the game-winning run.
Centre got a strong outing on the mound from sophomore Rob Caudill (Danville, Ky.). Caudill threw 5.1 innings of scoreless baseball and allowed only three hits with three walks and three strikeouts.
Edwards earned his first collegiate victory in relief by allowing one run in 2.2 innings of work.
Six different players recorded at least one hit with junior Phil Brilli (Powell, Ohio) finishing as the only player on either team with multiple hits.
Centre will next host Transylvania Tuesday, Feb. 25. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. in Danville, Ky.