Lexington, Ky. – The Transylvania baseball team used a dominant effort by Jake Schmidt to win game one of its doubleheader over the Mount St. Joseph University Lions, 8-3 and a walk-off winner from Hudson Chastain to win 11-10 in the sequel in a captivating Saturday Senior Day afternoon at Legends Ballpark.
Using a signature effort from a tried-and-true senior on the mound in the opener and a walk-off by the dependable senior Chastain in the nightcap, the Pioneers moved to 24-9 overall and in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play. Mount St. Joseph dropped to 12-22 overall and in HCAC contests.
By winning its 24th game in game two, Transylvania captured the most wins in a season by a Pioneer baseball team since the 2010 campaign and the most in a season during the Zack Getsee era.
The Pioneers jumped out of the gate with an early offensive attack. After a first-inning double from Devyn Wilson-Cowan, Chastain laced an RBI single to open the scoring for Transylvania. Nick Wade doubled the Pioneer advantage with an RBI single to earn a 2-0 Transy lead in the first.
Mount St. Joseph answered with a run in the second inning after an error and a sacrifice fly RBI. Wilson-Cowan instantly replied in the bottom of the inning with a no-doubt two-run homer to left field to push the Pioneers in front, 4-1 after two innings of play.
The early offensive fireworks were halted for both teams as starter Jake Schmidt settled into a nice groove for the Pioneers. The senior struck out six batters in his final three innings on the day as part of a nine-strikeout performance.
The scoring resumed in the sixth inning as Matt Broadwater zipped a single to score Riley Willbur. Trent Pahl provided another insurance run with an RBI single of his own to vault Transylvania in front at 6-1.
The Lions refused to give up and went on to plate runs in the seventh and eighth inning to cut the lead to five runs for Transy. But in the bottom of the eighth, the Pioneers delivered the final blow as Broadwater lined a two-run single and Wilson-Cowan drove in another score with a fielder's choice to end the scoring at 8-3 in favor of the Pioneers.
Matt Broadwater filled in wonderfully with a career-day, going 2 for 3 with a career-best three RBI.
Jake Schmidt earned the win and remained undefeated on the year at 7-0 by dealing five innings, striking out nine, and surrendering one unearned run on five hits with one walk.
The second contest featured an influx of scoring between both teams, a trend which continued until the final at-bat.
Mount St. Joseph opened the scoring in the first inning via a sacrifice fly to earn an early 1-0 advantage. The Pioneers pounced on an error made by the Lions as a wayward infield throw allowed Wade Lopiccolo to cross home and even the score at 1-1.
The Pioneers took an early lead in the second inning as Wilson-Cowan launched another home run on the day to earn a 2-1 advantage. The home run was the third in three games for the junior and his sixth of the season as the Lexington native went deep in both games Saturday.
The Lions pressured the Pioneers by using a grand slam to fuel a five-run inning to suddenly clinch a 6-2 advantage.
Transylvania bounced back with runs in the bottom of the third inning, courtesy of a Chastain sacrifice fly RBI and a fourth-inning RBI from Pahl to cut the Lion lead to just two runs at 6-4.
The Pioneer bats broke out in the fifth inning as Michael Blair provided an RBI single to score Chastain and turn the tide. After reaching first on a single and moving to third on Blair's base hit, Willbur raced home to score on a wild pitch by the Lions. A Wade single scored Blair to cap off a three-run inning as the Pioneers reclaimed the lead at 7-6 after five innings.
Mount St. Joseph stormed back in front by scoring three runs in the seventh inning. The Pioneers had the answer once again as Wilson-Cowan squared up a stand-up RBI triple to spark another comeback. Broadwater followed up with a RBI single of his own to tie the game at 9-9 heading into the eighth inning.
Chastain duplicated his role as the final hero of the night in the eighth and ninth innings, scoring a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning to make the score 10-9 in favor of Transy.
The Lions tied the game in the top of the ninth as it appeared extra innings were in the cards. Chastain had other ideas as he followed a lead-off hit by Broadwater and a base hit by Lopiccolo to deliver a walk-off base hit on a hard-hit line drive into right field to win it for the Pioneers.
Chastain made his Senior Day one full of new memories, going 4 for 5 with four singles, three RBI, and a run scored.
Wilson-Cowan went 3 for 5 with a home run, triple, and single, along with two RBI and two runs scored.
The Pioneers will take on the Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers in a single game on Wednesday, May 5 at Legends Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. in Lexington.
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