Chamlee Homer Not Enough as Eagles Fall to Tennessee Wesleyan in Game One

Waleska, GA - Reinhardt Baseball cut the deficit to two runs in the fifth inning from the bat of Cade Chamlee, but Tennessee Wesleyan answered late and pulled away for a 5-1 win Friday in Waleska. The decisive stretch came in the eighth, when Brayan Espinoza delivered an RBI double, and the Bulldogs added another run on an error to turn a manageable game into a four-run margin.

Tennessee Wesleyan set the tone early. David Ballenilla opened the scoring in the first after doubling and coming home on Allan Gil Fernandez's RBI single for a 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs added on in the fourth when Ballenilla hit a solo home run to left, then Kolton Reynolds followed later in the inning with an RBI double that pushed the advantage to 3-0.

Reinhardt's best offensive moment came in the fifth. Cade Chamlee went deep to left-center with one out, a solo shot that trimmed the lead to 3-1 and gave the Eagles some life. That accounted for Reinhardt's lone run as the Eagles finished with four hits. Chamlee had one of the team's two extra-base hits, and Reinhardt did not draw a walk. Cedric Cullars had the other multibase hit with a double in the third inning.  Chamlee's homer was his fifth of the season.

Logan Lynch, who has had a terrific season so far for the Eagles, had another good outing, pitching a full seven innings for the Eagles.  Over his seven innings, he allowed three runs from the powerful Bulldog offense and kept the Eagles within striking distance. He had four strikeouts in the game, but unfortunately, he picked up the loss. 

Overall, the Eagles had several chances to get runs across the plate to help Lynch's efforts on the mound, but came up empty.  Reinhardt was only able to get four hits in the game against Tennessee Wesleyan's starter, Justin Jackson. Jackson worked seven innings, allowing only one earned run while striking out seven on 102 pitches. The Eagles left six runners on base, with several of these in scoring position.

The two teams will play again on Saturday at Ken White Field with a doubleheader starting at 1 pm.

photo courtesy of Hunter Paulsen, graduate assistant photographer