SALINA, Kan. – The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) baseball slate continued for the Southwestern College baseball team on Saturday afternoon in Salina, Kan., where the Moundbuilders faced off with the Kansas Wesleyan University Coyotes, looking to jump back into the win column after four straight losing efforts. Though the impressive start from Jaxon Burns in game one kept the squad in the battle early, they could not muster enough offense, falling 5-2. Then, in game two it was more of the same from the offense on the way to a 10-2 loss.

It was a masterful pitching performance by Burns in the first tilt, as he worked his way into the seventh inning without allowing a single tally by the Coyotes.

That is where the shutout would end, though, as KWU put a pair of runs on the scoreboard on two solo homers in the bottom of the seventh inning to take a 2-0 lead over SC entering the eighth.

On the bright side, after Tyler Seboldt's one-out single in the eighth, London Penland hammered a two-run blast over the center field fence to tie the game with two outs at 2-2. The Builders had finally reached the run column on the scoreboard with just an inning-and-a-half to play.

Kansas Wesleyan would make Southwestern's bullpen pay in the bottom of the eighth, however, as a solo homer, an RBI single and a run-scoring double in the frame made it a 5-2 score. The massive momentum shift sucked the life out of the SC dugout, as they ended up sending just three hitters to the plate in the ninth and fell 5-2.

That energy that the Coyotes received from the bottom of the eighth inning seemed to carry over to game two, as they scored early and often. A solo homer in the bottom of the first by KWU put the Builders behind 1-0 after one.

Then, after another scoreless stanza from Southwestern in the second, Kansas Wesleyan erupted with a five spot in the bottom of inning number two. A solo homer, followed by a triple with the bases loaded and a subsequent sacrifice fly, made it a 6-0 KWU lead after just two frames.

The Moundbuilders would pick up a pair of runs in the third on a two-run double by Joseph Finder, which scored both Seboldt and Chris Weatherford. Unfortunately, those runs would be given right back to the Coyotes in the bottom half, as an RBI double and a run-scoring single by KWU made it an 8-2 ballgame with four full innings remaining.

Kansas Wesleyan would score two more in the fourth on a sac fly and an RBI single, as they held the Builders to just one hit over the final four innings of play. The SC squad fell 10-2 in the second tilt of the day, tallying their fifth and sixth straight losses.

A total of 12 hits were racked up by Southwestern over the course of 16 innings on Saturday, and the knocks continue to come primarily from the top of the Builder batting order. Seboldt (3-for-7, 2 R), Penland (2-for-6, HR, 2 RBI, R), Josh Crabtree (2-for-6, 2B) and Marcus Burton (2-for-7) were the four Moundbuilders with multiple hits. Those batters resided in the first, third, fourth and fifth spots in the lineup. Two of the team's 12 hits came from the final third of their lineup, as Trevor Abitia and Weatherford had those base knocks.

Burns (7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 5 K) was remarkable against a tough lineup on Saturday, as he provided stability for SC throughout the first battle of the day. The Moundbuilder bullpen arms, Braden Ash (0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, K) and Jacob Woodburn (0.1 IP, 2 H, ER), could not keep the tie game intact. In the second battle of the day, the script seemed to be flipped a bit, as Nathan Simmons (1.1 IP, 4 H, 6 ER, 2 BB) did not seem to have his best stuff in his start. Jared Stoffel (2.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, K, BB) and Trevor Sides (2 IP, 2 H, K, BB) finished off the day for the Moundbuilders on the hill.

There is no time to dwell on the results of Saturday's battles, as the Builders (8-21, 2-10 KCAC) will be returning to the diamond on Sunday afternoon, trying to salvage the final game of the series against the Coyotes in Salina. First pitch is set for 1 p.m., as SC searches for a way out of their rut.

--buildersports.com--