The Transylvania baseball team completed a jam-packed evening of baseball at Legends Ballpark with a doubleheader sweep of the Bluffton University Beavers on Friday night.
Following an unconventional start to the evening with a make-up appetizer, the Pioneers produced a pair of high-powered performances to defeat Bluffton 10-4 and 13-5 in their second doubleheader meeting of the season.
The Pioneers vaulted to 14-7 on the season while the Beavers fell to 7-15. Â
Transylvania captured a pair of wins on Friday behind sterling performances from aces Jake Schmidt and Evan Hall coupled with customary relentless Pioneer hitting. Riley Willbur had a monster performance in game one with a pair of home run blasts to tie a career-high six RBI while Matt Broadwater and Wade Lopiccolo went yard in game two with Broadwater notching the first of his career to steer the Pioneers to the sweep.
Meeting with one another for the second time this season, the teams added an addendum to the start of the day by resuming a halted game from March 6 which was previously called due to darkness, tied at 6-all after nine full innings of play.
An additional element of the season-opening doubleheader was that Bluffton batted second in the make-up game because the Beavers were originally supposed to host the Pioneers, but the games were moved to Lexington because of weather conditions up north.
When the game resumed Friday, Transy and Bluffton picked up action in the top of the tenth inning which evolved into a scoreless frame. The Pioneers went three up and three down in the top of the 11th. Batting in the bottom of the 11th, the Beavers put one runner aboard on an error, and Lenny Winiarski ended the game with a two run home run to officially conclude a contest which began over a month before. Trent Youngblood took the loss for the Pioneers as the final pitcher of record.
The first full game of the day began a sliver before 6 p.m. Eastern time and the Pioneers quickly imposed their will on the Beavers. After Bluffton took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, Transylvania responded with a five-run answer in the bottom half of the inning.
With runners on the corners, Willbur drove a deep shot to right centerfield for a three-run home run. Michael Blair and Nick Wade followed with base hits and Parker Tuszynski scored Blair on a base hit. After Walter Munday reached base on a hit by pitch, Trent Pahl scored Wade on an RBI groundout to complete the five-run outburst.
The Pioneers added to their lead in the next inning with an RBI double from Blair, raising Transy's lead to 6-1.
Bluffton tallied two runs in the third as both Schmidt and his contemporary Jacob Boelkens held their respective orders scoreless through the fifth inning. Schmidt would work through the sixth inning before signing off with his fifth consecutive win to begin the season, striking out nine, allowing 11 hits, walking two, and yielding two earned runs.
Boelkens bowed out after the fifth and the Pioneers pounced on his replacement, courtesy of Willbur's second home run of the game, a two-out shot to right field that scored Chastain and Youngblood for a 9-3 stronghold.
A Pahl single scored Wade in the following inning as the Pioneers cruised to the first official win of the day. Â
Chastain led the Pioneers in hits with a 3 for 4 showing at the plate with two doubles and a walk while Blair and Wade each matched Willbur with two hits apiece and a double apiece. The Pioneers amassed 13 hits to Bluffton's 14.
Friday's nightcap mirrored a similar start to the prior contest as the Pioneers quickly neutralized a 1-0 start by Bluffton with a four-run explosion in the bottom of the second, all coming with two outs. Wade fueled the effort with a single, and Broadwater moved Wade to third with a double into left field. The inning appeared over when Pahl speared a short fly ball into right field, but the Beavers' right fielder dropped the ball, allowing Broadwater and Wade to cross home plate.
Each team traded a three-run inning in the third as the Pioneers rebuilt their lead in the bottom of the frame. Broadwater delivered the first home run of his career, a three-run bomb to left field, to retain a 7-4 lead for Transylvania, a lead which would hold steady for the rest of the evening.
After yielding three runs in the third, Hall was unflappable for the rest of the night, going six innings to pick up the win. Hall struck out three, allowed 10 hits, and allowed five earned runs. Carter Atkinson offered little to Bluffton in relief, working the final three innings and striking out five, giving up two hits, and no walks for the first save of his career.
The Pioneers added six more runs between the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings. Lopiccolo smacked a two-run home run in the sixth to add to the highlight reel. Andrew Winningham provided the final RBI of the day with a hard-hit double to deep right center for the 13th and final run of the night.
Youngblood and Wade each registered three hits while Broadwater offered a powerful performance with two hits. Transy compiled 14 hits in the second game to 12 for the Beavers.
Transylvania is back in action on Sunday, April 11 as the Pioneers hit the road for a conference doubleheader against the Earlham College Quakers. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at Sadler Stadium in Richmond, Indiana.
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