NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Wesley College's baseball team rallied from five runs down to defeat Christopher Newport, 10-9, in ten innings in the second game of a Capital Athletic Conference doubleheader at Captains Park. The Captains (9-9) took the opener, 17-6, and the Wolverines now stand at 6-7 overall while both teams hold identical 3-2 records in the CAC.
Tied at nine going into the tenth, Cory Smith drilled a one-out triple into the gap in right center and Trevor Mears followed with a sacrifice fly to deep right field to bring in Smith. Andrew Cooper then closed the door on Christopher Newport with a 1-2-3 tenth inning. Cooper allowed no earned runs in 3.2 innings to pick up his third win of the season in as many decisions.
A six-run seventh inning by the Captains gave them a 9-4 lead but Wesley scored three in the eighth and two more in the ninth to tie the score and send the game into extra innings. Stan Zulkowski started the eight-inning rally with a leadoff home run, the first round tripper for any Wolverines this season. Eric Speidel later drove in Adam Darling, who had a career-high four hits in the nightcap, with an RBI single, and Smith later doubled in Tyler Hunter, who reached on a fielder's choice just prior.
Still trailing by two entering the ninth, Conner Gobright led off the frame with a single up the middle before scoring on Matt Domian's double down the left field line. Darling then drove Domian in with a RBI to double to left field, tying the score at nine.
Cooper escaped some trouble in the bottom of the ninth after allowing a leadoff double, but Domian caught the runner trying to steal third, and after a lineout, Cooper caught John Booker looking for the final out.
Wesley did lead earlier in the game after falling behind, 2-0, but taking a 4-2 advantage after a three-run fifth. Mears, Domian and Zulkowski all had RBIs in their appearances in the fifth, while Smith, who had three hits in game two, delivered with a sacrifice fly in the third.
In the opener, CNU erupted for four runs in the sixth and nine runs in the seventh to put the game out of reach. Zulkowski helped Wesley get somewhat back into the game with a three-run double in the eighth for three of his four RBIs in the game. He also had an RBI earlier in the game, as did Speidel and Smith with back-to-back singles in the fifth.
The Wolverines are right back at it when they travel to Route 13 and CAC rival, as well as 7th-ranked Salisbury for a 2 pm single game.