Baseball upsets No. 2 Tennessee Wesleyan
ATHENS, Tenn. (April 9, 2022) – Behind clutch hitting from Connor Varnum and Jackson Bush, the Point University baseball team defeated No. 2 Tennessee Wesleyan 6-5 in game one of Saturday's doubleheader before falling in game two 17-5.
Point handed the Bulldogs their first conference loss of the season, but the Skyhawks dropped their first conference series of the season. The Skyhawks are now 19-17 (14-7 AAC) and TWU is 39-3 (20-1 AAC).
Game one: Point 6, TWU 5
The Bulldogs jumped out early in game one, scoring three runs in the first and a run in the third and fourth. The Skyhawks would begin to chip away at the Bulldogs' lead, starting in the top of the fifth with an RBI single to left field from Varnum that scored Jaysen Dower. In the top of the seventh, the Skyhawks would tie the game, starting with an RBI single up the middle from Varnum that scored Dillon Brown to cut the Bulldogs' lead down to three (5-2). Bush would connect for a 3-run home run with two outs and tie the game 5-5. Bush's home run was his sixth of the season.
Sage Waters and Gene Abourette would combine to hold the Bulldogs off the scoreboard, allowing the Skyhawks to score the game-winning run in the top of the ninth. Varnum would lead off with a hit by pitch and Jakobe Smith and Jackson Bush would follow with back-to-back walks. Alex Marquand would draw a bases-loaded walk with two outs, and Varnum would score to earn the lead for Point. Casten Reed would come in to earn his fifth save and help the Skyhawks to victory.
Point combined for six hits, with Varnum leading the way, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Bush following, going 1-for-3 with 3 RBIs and two walks. Marquand and Smith each got a hit, with Marquand recording an RBI and walking twice and Smith walked three times.
Austin Tebo got the start, going one inning, giving up one hit, three runs (all earned), walking four and striking out two. McWaters came in for relief, going 6.2 innings, giving up five hits, two runs (both earned), walking one and striking out one. Abourette earned the win, throwing one-third of an inning, and Reed earned the save, pitching the final inning.
Game two: Point 5, TWU 17
The Bulldogs got out to an early lead, scoring five runs off five hits in the bottom of the second. An error in the top of the third would allow Marquand and Varnum to score, cutting Tennessee Wesleyan's lead down 5-2, but this would be as close as Point would get to the Bulldogs' lead, as TWU scored six runs in the bottom of the inning (11-2). In the top of the fifth, Kevin Howard would connect for an RBI single to right field to score Varnum (11-3). In the bottom of the inning, the Bulldogs would extend their lead out to 11 (14-3). Point would cut Tennessee Wesleyan's lead down to nine, following an RBI double from Varnum to score Brown, and an error would bring Varnum home (14-5). The Bulldogs would answer with two runs in the bottom of the inning and hold the Skyhawks scoreless in the top of the seventh.
The Skyhawks combined for nine hits, with Brown, Varnum and Smith each recording two. Marquand, Howard and Jeff Rice had one hit apiece. Chase Raines suffered the loss, going 2.0 innings, giving up five hits, five runs (three earned) and walking two. Alex Williamson, Cale Whigham and Adam Castillo came in for relief.
Up next
The Skyhawks will be back in action on Tuesday as they travel to Toccoa Falls for a nonconference matchup at 1 p.m. Following Tuesday's game, Point will host its final AAC series of the season as they play Milligan University April 15-16.