DAVENPORT, FL. – The Wesleyan University baseball team split a pair of games with Penn State Abington on Saturday, running a 4-0 shutout in game one before falling 8-7 to a walk off in game two from the Northeast Regional Park.
Shamus Kelly '28 was the hero of game one, pitching a complete game for the Cardinals without dropping a single run. Kelly struck out five batters and allowed just six hits through all seven innings.
An early two-run lead for the Cardinals began with
Tucker DeWolf '28 batting to centerfield, reaching third as
William Moore '26 returned a double on the next at bat.
James Marsden's '26 sacrificed fly allowed DeWolf to score before Moore hit home with
Sam Hensinger '26 hitting a single to center.
Dewolf sent
Jake Acker '26 home at the bottom of the fourth after Acker reached taking a hit from Nick Benson. Acker opened the bottom of the sixth reaching second base due to an error at first and scored with
Oliver Kwan '28 nailing a single to the right field.
Benson took the loss for the Nittany Lions, allowing three earned runs.
Game two tilted in favor of the Cardinals as it did in game one, but the Cardinals would go without a run through the first inning. Hensinger stole two bases after reaching on a fielder's choice and scored with
Cole Sipes '29 hitting a double to center field.
Matthew DeBenedictis '29 scored on the same play having followed Hensinger on his second stolen base attempt. Kwan closed the inning with a third run.
Marsden, now sitting at 99 career hits, cuffed a home run to left field in the third to push the Cardinals to a four-run lead. The Cardinals' lead did not last through the second half of the inning as the Nittany Lions scored five runs, taking the lead with a one-run margin. DeWolf tied the game up at five in the fifth with Moore putting a ball in right field.
DeBenedictis and Kwan returned the lead for the Cardinals at seven, hitting the plate on the same play from Moore to center field. The Nittany Lions put away two more runs to tie the game at seven before securing a walk-off win from John Busco.
Marsden closed the game, pitching just over one inning for the Cardinals, marking two strikeouts with three allowed runs.
The Cardinals return to action Tuesday, March 17, when they face Ithica in Myrtle Beach, S.C. at 9 a.m.