HARROGATE, Tenn. –
Kaden Wilde had three hits and
Coen Ball pitched five solid innings to lead the Yellow Jackets to an 8-3 win at Lincoln Memorial.
The Railsplitters took game one of the non-conference twinbill by a 6-5 count.
Wilde completed a five-hit day by going 3-for-4 in the nightcap with two runs scored.
Rookie
Graham Ward doubled, tripled, and scored twice.
Max Doepker had two hits and
Chris Montes de Oca drove in two runs.
Ball allowed one unearned run on five hits with five strikeouts over the first five innings to get the win. Newcomer
Owen Shimmel and
Ford Duesing tossed two innings each to close it out.
In the first game, LMU broke a 5-5 tie with a run in the sixth inning before holding on.
Grayson Weikel, who had two hits, belted a two-run homer in the top half of the frame to knot the score.
Eli Henderson totaled three hits with a double and Wilde added two hits.
Quotable: Head Coach Matt Richter
"This was an encouraging start to the season. January baseball in Tennessee felt like January baseball in Ohio. We played the entirety of game two through snow showers. Lincoln Memorial is a talented, physical squad, and both teams had a ton of loud outs.
"We were in the strike zone on the mound, and we put the ball in play consistently. Those are important signs of growth and maturity in our guys.
Coen Ball got better with each inning, and our guys out of the bullpen were aggressive all day. They kept us in game one and shut down game two."
Stinger Notes:
- Weather conditions featured 28 degrees and snow showers.
- Riley Finkelston stole a base in each game.
- Six CU pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts, seven walks, and six earned runs in 17 innings.
- The Jackets totaled 19 hits and drew 10 walks on the day.
