KWU Athletics
Kansas Wesleyan came up short in the rubber game of their three-game Kansas Conference series against Avila on Sunday afternoon at Dean Evans Stadium.
Avila starter Briley Burrow (5-3) pitched a complete game and limited the Coyotes to six hits. He struck out six and walked none.
KWU (23-21 overall, 11-11 KCAC) got off to a good start when Dusty Sipe hit a towering home run over the center field wall in the bottom of first inning that gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead.
Avila answered with three runs on five singles in the top of the second inning and added four more runs on three hits in the third for a 7-1 lead.
The Coyotes trimmed the deficit to 7-3 in the eighth inning when John Downey (SR/Redding, Calif.) singled with two outs. Will Dryburgh ran for Downey and scored on Kevin Esquilin Cruz (JR/Trujilo Alto, Puerto Rico)'s home run to left centerfield.
KWU got another run in the ninth inning on Jarrett Gable (JR/Colleyville, Texas)'s home run to right center field that made it 7-4 but couldn't get any closer.
Jalen Jones (SO/Katy, Texas) singled in the fourth inning and Yealex Lopez-Torres (JR/Arecibo, Puerto Rico) doubled in the fifth to account for the Coyotes' other two hits.
Ethan Wilson (SR/Thackerville, Okla.) relieved KWU starter Oscar Sanchez (JR/Celina, Texas) (2-2) with one out in the third and pitched well for the next five innings allowing two runs on six hits with six strikeouts and one walk. Caden Diccion and Ryan Sandoval (JR/El Paso, Texas) pitched the final 1.2 innings and didn't allow a run.
KWU is back in action Tuesday with a single game against conference foe Sterling starting at 2 p.m. in Sterling. The Coyotes return to Evans Stadium next weekend for a three-game series against KCAC opponent Saint Mary. They'll play a single game at 4 p.m. Friday followed by a doubleheader Saturday starting at 1 p.m.