KWU Athletics
Kansas Wesleyan's 12 runs in the fifth and sixth innings were more than enough to propel to the Coyotes to a 13-4 victory over Panhandle State in the first game of their doubleheader Sunday afternoon at Dean Evans Stadium.
They weren't enough to satisfy Coyote coach Bill Neale, though.
Panhandle State the won the second game 12-4 as KWU had just four hits and the teams split their four-game weekend series.
"It wasn't a very good day, honestly," Neale said. "We played good for probably about three innings. Our pitchers have been pitching fine and have all year for us.
"We had three good innings in the first game hitting and really didn't muster a whole lot in the second game. And on top of that didn't play very good defense behind our pitchers."
The Coyotes begin Kansas Conference play with a game against Sterling at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Evans Stadium. They completed the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 12-10 record.
"The reality is we're not playing very good baseball and we've got to figure it out," Neale said. "Come Tuesday that's our second season, the beginning of it, and probably don't like where we're at right now to go into that but that's the reality of where we're at."
Oklahoma Panhandle took a 4-0 lead in the first game before Zach Olson (SO/Red, Alberta) singled home a run in the fourth inning to cut the deficit to 4-1.
The Coyotes broke loose in the fifth inning scoring eight runs on eight hits. Haydn Brown (SR/Gardnerville, Nev.) doubled home the first run and Dustin Sipe (JR/Aztec, N.M.) tied the game with a two-run single. Reece Bishop (SO/Colorado Springs, Colo.) gave KWU a 6-4 lead with a two-run homer. Olson doubled and Josh Sandoval (SR/Glendale, Ariz.) singled him home ahead of William Dryburgh (SR/St. Joseph, Mo.)'s two-run homer that capped the inning and made it 9-4.
The Coyotes scored four more on four hits in the sixth. Robbie Keener (FR/Abilene, Kan.) walked with one out and jogged home on Sipe's two-run homer that bumped the lead to 11-4. Bishop's single and Olson's ensuing two-run homer scored the last two.
KWU had 16 hits in the game, 15 the last three innings. Dryburgh, Sipe, Bishop and Olson had three apiece while Sipe drove in four and Olson three.
Starter Brandon Voytko was the winning pitcher, allowing six hits and four runs with three walks and six strikeouts in five innings. Dylan Epke (SO/Wichita, Kan.) pitched two shutout innings in relief.
The nightcap wasn't as much fun. Panhandle State (4-11) scored one in the first inning, two in the third, three in the fifth and six in the seventh aided by three Coyote errors.
KWU scored three runs on two hits in the second inning – Dryburgh and Diego Fisher (JR/Hollister, Calif.) with RBI hits and Brock Downing (SR/Arvada, Colo.) an RBI fielder's choice. Brown singled in the Coyotes' fourth run in the fifth.
Five of OPSU's runs were unearned as the Coyotes committed four errors.
Starter Jansen Lublin (JR/San Diego, Calif.) took the loss surrendering four runs on five hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. KT Gearlds (JR/Ingram, Texas), Ryan Sandoval (JR/El Paso, Texas), Nathaniel Beers (JR/Port Orchard, Wash.) and Cayden Diccion (JR/Piedmont, Calif.) also pitched.
Neale says his team is capable of more consistency at the plate.
"We've got the group to do it, it's not that we can't do it," he said. "We just haven't been hitting well, we haven't hit in clumps like we did in that first game. We've just got to go out and do it."
Neale was pleased with his pitchers for the most part.
"Our pitchers battled today even though they didn't have their best stuff," he said. "I'm not worried about them.
"We've got to play better defense and we've got to hit the ball better."
KWU plays McPherson in a three-game series next weekend at Evans Stadium. A doubleheader Saturday begins at noon and a single game Sunday starts at 2 p.m.