RedHawks Win Series Versus IWU

Recap, photo courtesy of Martin Methodist

PULASKI, Tenn. – The Martin Methodist Baseball team lost the first game by a 21-2 margin, but rallied for a victory in the second half of Wednesday's doubleheader, 11-9, to salvage the split and win the series versus Indiana Wesleyan at Bobby Walker Field.

The RedHawks (13-6) combined for a total of 28 runs in the three-game series versus the Wildcats (6-14), a squad receiving votes in the NAIA Baseball Coaches Top 25 Poll.

In Wednesday's opener, the RedHawks allowed eight runs in the first inning and never recovered in the 21-2 defeat. The RedHawks collected just four hits in the loss, with Brendan Granger collecting the lone RBIs of the ballgame on a two-run single in the bottom of the fifth.
Trevor McKinley suffered the loss on the hill for the RedHawks.

But while McKinley suffered the loss on the mound in the opener, he made amends in the nightcap as he went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs in the 11-9 victory.

Riley Phillips and Drew Nipper also nabbed a pair of hits. Nipper potentially saved the ballgame for the RedHawks in the field defensively with an outstretched snag at second base to keep the game tied at 9-9. Nipper was hit by a pitch to start the bottom of the sixth and eventually came around to score on McKinley's RBI double.

As a team, the RedHawks collected 12 hits in the victory and garnered 11 earned runs versus five different Indiana Wesleyan pitchers.

Matt Westberry tossed 2.1 innings of relief work to collect the win on the mound (2-0) for the RedHawks.

The win gave the RedHawks a possible jolt of momentum as they head into their second conference series of the season. The RedHawks head to Mobile, Alabama for a series versus the University of Mobile.