Clarke's Six RBIs Powers Bulldogs to Game One Win Against Bluefield

Recap, photo courtesy of TWU

Athens, TN- The baseball team returned to Athens Insurance Stadium this afternoon, less than 24 hours since the thrilling victory against #2 Georgia Gwinnett College. The receiving-votes Bulldogs welcomed the Bluefield College Rams, an Appalachian Athletic Conference foe, to Athens on Thursday for the opening of a three-game series which was originally set to begin on Friday.

The hangover from beating the second-ranked team reared its ugly head in the first inning as Tennessee Wesleyan gave up five runs to the visiting Rams. Dakota Phillips hit his eighth home run of the season in the second inning to make a minor cut into the deficit, starting a streak of seven-straight innings with a score for the Bulldogs.

With the offense warming up, a pitching change in the form of Carson Bach stabilized the defense for TWU. Tristan Clarke's two-run dinger with Tyler Halas on-base brought the Bulldogs within two runs and made the score 5-3.  The biggest damage came in the fourth inning, which started with a Phillips single. Mosley's fielder's choice forced Phillips out but kept a runner on first and Grant Lang used a walk to put runners on first and second. Sid Kumar gave Tennessee Wesleyan three home runs on the day with this three-run blast, giving the Bulldogs their first lead of the day, 5-3. Two more runs came off Clarke's second home run of the day joining Malik Stephens crossing the plate to extend the lead to four runs, 7-3.

TWU added a run each in the fifth, off a Grant Lang homer, and in the sixth inning from Tyler Halas' run off a Collin Ridout single. Another four runs came for the Bulldogs in the seventh inning as Halas' scored a pinch-running Alfred Cruz off a single, Clarke scored Kumar and Halas off another single and Clarke scored on an opposing player's bobble. A second run from Cruz in the eighth along with a third run from Kumar gave Tennessee Wesleyan the amount of runs needed to end the game according to the mercy rule with a final score of 16-6.

Bach came in in the first and went 6.1 innings deep and only gave up two runs on one hit while striking out eight batters and surrendering no walks. Clarke finished the day 4-5 with two runs scored, two home runs and six RBIs. Kumar also aided the offense with three hits, three runs scored and four RBIs.

The Bulldogs (22-16, 11-5) are currently riding a five-game winning streak and looking to continue it in the first game of a doubleheader on Friday. The weather could play a factor in the start time but it is currently scheduled for 1:00 PM. Stay tuned to the athletic website and Tennessee Wesleyan Athletics' social media (@twbulldogs) for all the updates concerning start times.