Late Inning Troubles Keep Eagles from Getting Win at Tennessee Weslyan

Late Inning Troubles Keep Eagles from Getting Win at Tennessee Weslyan
Box Score Box Score
April 16, 2023

Athens, TN - For the second day in a row, the Eagles give up a good lead on the #3 ranked Bulldogs of Tennessee Wesleyan. The Eagles had a 12-9 lead after the top of the eighth inning in game two, but they let this lead slip to give up the game 15-12. Game three was all Tennessee Wesleyan as the Eagles leave Athens, TN wondering where they stand against one of the nation's best baseball teams. Game three of the series went to the Bulldogs, 12-1.

Game One (Game Two of the Series)

The offensive production that Eagles fans have been used to this season was in full gear in game one of the doubleheader with Tennessee Wesleyan. The Eagles put 12 runs on the board, which should be plenty for a team of their caliber to record a win. The Eagles took and early 3-0 lead in the second inning and added another on a solo home run by Zach Rabe. 

The Bulldogs keep answering back in the bottom halves of those innings so the Eagles were not able to pull away. Nash Crowell provided a good lead for the Eagles in the fourth when he knocked a Grand Slam bringing home Jarrett Burney, Tucker Zdunich, and Jamel Roodard and gave the Eagles an 8-6 lead after four innings.  The Eagles would add two more in the fifth on a double by Burney, which scored Roodkard and Lance Dockery putting the lead at 10-6.

The Bulldogs would get a few back in the fifth cutting the lead to 10-8 Eagles. The final runs for the Eagles would come in the top of the eight on hits by Crowell and Richard Castro. Crowell got a double which brought home Zdunich and Castro's hit was a single that brought home Crowell. The runs would give the Eagles a 12-9 lead.

Batting Highlights from Game One
HR: NASH CROWELL (Grand Slam), ZACH RABE
 
The story of game one would be the pitching not being able to hold the leads that the offense got throughout the game. Almost every inning was answered by a few runs once the Eagles took the lead. The eighth inning would be the difference in this game where the Bulldogs picked up six runs on four home runs from the Eagle's pitching staff. What was once a good 12-9 lead for the Eagles quickly turned into a 15-12 deficit by the end of the eighth inning. The Bulldogs closed out the top of the ninth to win the first game of the doubleheader.
 
Game Two (Game Three of the Series)
 
The highlights of game two of the doubleheader are very thin for the Eagles. Maybe it was the results of the first two games versus Tennessee Wesleyan or the fact that the Bulldogs are a very good ball club that can give you a good dose of reality, but the Eagles could not get much going offensively and the pitching gave up 12 runs over the seven-inning game.
 
The Eagles were only able to get five hits in the seven innings and their one run came in the top of the seventh from a solo home run by Dylan Lewis.
 
The pitching staff for the Eagles gave up runs in four of the six innings they pitched. Jordan Hampton was able to record four strikeouts in the game, but he gave up six hits and eight runs during that time.
 
The Eagles will need to put this series behind them and regroup to finish out the season on a positive note and position themselves in a good spot in the AAC standings. They still control where they end up in the standings as they will face Bryan College in a series this coming weekend. If the Eagles are able to take this series, they have a good shot at falling into second place in the standings. After Bryan, the Eagles will wrap up the 2023 regular season with a series with Milligan two weeks from now. By winning both of these series, the Eagles should have enough to get them into second place in the standings, but this depends on what the other teams do as well. The pitching staff will need to pick things up in these last two series if the Eagles are going to make the move up.
 
AAC Standings as of 04/16/2023