WINFIELD - Battling adverse weather conditions, the Kansas Wesleyan Baseball team persevered to come away with a 13-5 win over the Southwestern Moundbuilders on Friday at Broadway Sports Complex.
Winds were blowing at 35-40 miles per hour all day Friday with gusts well in advance of 60 mph. As the game went on, a huge cloud of dust and smoke enveloped the area, most of the dust kicked up from Oklahoma. The smoke from many wildfires that broke out in Oklahoma and southern Kansas due to power poles snapping in the wind and sparks causing fires to start in the dry conditions and quickly grow out of control.
Southwestern had an early lead 1-0 in the bottom of the first, and the score remained the same until the fourth when Jesse Conrad singled to score Joe Finder who doubled earlier in the inning.
Jacob Williamson's solo homerun in the top of the fifth inning put the Coyotes up 2-1.
The Coyotes started to pull away in the sixth, scoring runs after loading the bases when Finder was hit, Coulson Riggs walked and Conrad singled. A wild pitch brought in the first run. Williamson brought in a run on a sacrifice fly and Garrett Garfield added a sacrifice fly in the inning as well.
Southwestern scored one in the sixth, but the Coyotes answered right back. Finder and Riggs led off the inning with singles and three batters later, Williamson reached on an error that allowed both runners to score.
The Coyotes out five on the board in the eighth. Fernando Ruvalcaba walked and then Carter Allen doubled, but an error on the play allowed pinch runner Lakin Franz to score. Finder followed with a RBI single, Riggs walked, Conrad singled home a run, Williamson did the same and Tyler Favretto brought in a run with a ground out.
Southwestern scored three in the bottom of the inning, but the Coyotes added one more in the ninth as Finder tripled and then scored on a single by Riggs.
Finder had four hits for the Coyotes and scored five times. Conrad had three hits while three others had two hits each. Williamson drove in three.
Brett Maddock was excellent on the hill for the Coyotes, going the entire way allowing five runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts.