Lexington, Ky. – The Transylvania baseball team captured the final game of a three-game series with the University of Chicago Maroons on Sunday afternoon, winning 8-6 over the Maroons at Whitaker Bank Ballpark.

After being blanked for the first three innings, the Pioneers exploded with a five-run inning in the fourth to overtake the Maroons and lead for the rest of the afternoon in another offensive barrage; after registering a season-best 17 hits in yesterday's 15-9 game-two loss against Maroons, the Pioneer bats powered up again on Sunday with 13 hits.

Transylvania improved to 4-5 on the season while handing Chicago its first defeat of the season to move the Maroons to 5-1 overall.

Robert Young concluded a strong showing from all three of Transy's starting pitchers over the weekend, picking up his first win of the season in three appearances. The senior went 5.2 innings, striking out four Maroon hitters to two walks and allowing three earned runs.

Other than a lone run scored in the first on a passed ball, Young held the Chicago offense in check for the first four innings, setting the stage for a game-changing inning in which the Pioneers batted around.

Riley Willbur led off the fourth inning with a double and Hudson Chastain drove in the senior on the next at-bat for one of his three hits on the day, tying up the game at 1-1.

TJ Keck continued his relentless early-March tear with a single through the left side to move Chastain to second base. Michael Blair gave the Pioneers a 2-1 lead on a liner to right field, bringing Chastain across home plate.

The Pioneers produced three more run-scoring base hits in the inning, courtesy of Andrew Winningham, Griffin Hall, and Devyn Wilson-Cowan, leading to a momentum-changing 5-1 advantage.

Chicago inched back with a two-run double in the following inning, forging a 5-3 score in favor of Transy; an RBI groundout by the Maroons with two outs in the top of the sixth cut the Pioneer lead to 5-4.

With Young ceding the mound to Ashton Plymale in the top of the sixth, the sophomore reliever registered the final out, leaving the Pioneers in possession of the lead.

Plymale continued to find his rhythm in the following frames, retiring three of four batters in the seventh inning to keep a one-run lead for the Pioneers into the bottom of the seventh.

Transylvania put the game away in the bottom of the frame with one last massive scoring punch. With two away and Wilson-Cowan aboard at third, Keck hit a hard shot that was mishandled by Chicago's shortstop, allowing Wilson-Cowan to score and the inning to remain alive.

On the next at-bat, Michael Blair made the Maroons pay for their fielding miscue, sizing up his second home run of the weekend to left field for an 8-4 Pioneer lead.

Chicago found two more runs on a pair of solo home runs in the eighth, but Plymale remained on steady footing the rest of the way to secure his first save of the season and the weekend-ending win for the Pioneers.

Young and Plymale combined for seven strikeouts and scattered eight hits.

Chastain finished 3 for 4 with a triple for the Pioneers, his first at Whitaker Bank Ballpark. Blair went 2 for 4 with three runs batted in while Wilson-Cowan went 2 for 5 at the plate. Transylvania had its fourth-highest scoring game of the season thus far on Sunday, doing so without drawing a walk.

Transylvania will be back at home on Wednesday with a scheduled doubleheader against the Capital University Crusaders. The first pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 12:00 noon at Whitaker Bank Ballpark.

For more on Transylvania baseball, follow @TransyBaseball on Twitter