BARBOURVILLE, Ky. (March 30, 2023) – The Truett McConnell University baseball team took care of business against Union College in an Appalachian Athletic Conference doubleheader on Thursday afternoon. The Bears improved their winning streak to five-straight games with a close 7-6 win in game one and a 4-2 game two victory to cap the evening. TMU improves to 24-10, 10-6 AAC on the season, while Union drops to 18-11-1, 8-8 AAC. 

GAME 1 | 7-6 

The Bears lacked offense in the first two innings in which the Bulldogs were able to go ahead 0-2 in the second inning. In the third inning, the offense jump started when Jake Edwards and Matthew Redmond got on base after a pair of walks. Edwards scored on a Tanner Griffith RBI single, while Ethan Roberts gave the Bears a 3-1 lead with a single that scored both Redmond and Griffith. Later in the fifth, Griffith led off with a double, followed by a Mikal Mascarello walk. Dylan Sargent lined a base hit to left field, scoring Griffith to make it 5-2, while Jacob Karvales and Edwards both would bring in two more runs to bring the lead to five. TMU wouldn't score again, but was able to fight off a Bulldog comeback despite runs scored in the sixth and ninth innings, making the final score 7-6. 

LEADERS 

Roberts led the team with two RBIs after going 1-3 at the plate with a single walk. Griffith went 2-4 with two runs and one walk, followed by Edwards and Sargent who went 2-4, each with one run and one RBI. Pitcher Tyler Gray improved to 7-2 on the season with the win after pitching eight innings. 

GAME 2 | 4-2 

The first two innings went scoreless for TMU. In the third, down 0-1, the Bears' offense racked up four runs. After a double from Karvelas and a couple of fielder choices and a Griffith single, TMU got on the board when Mascarello singled to right field, scoring Kiser to make it 1-0. With bases loaded, Andrew Johnston drew a walk, sending Redmond home and Roberts capped the run with a single to center to score both Griffith and Marcarello, bringing the lead to 4-0. The Bulldogs attempted to come from behind again but were shut down thanks to quality pitching from Caleb Johnson and John James to lead TMU to a 4-2 win. 

LEADERS 

Roberts recorded two RBIs after going 1-3 at the plate. Edwards had a solid outing, going 2-3, while Mascarello went 1-3 with one run. Pitcher Caleb Johnston picked up his fifth win of the season after pitching six innings, giving up only one run off five hits. James John recorded the save after striking out two in the seventh inning. 

UP NEXT 

TMU will cap the three-game series against Union on Friday, March 31 in Barbourville.