The Ashland University baseball team traveled to Canton, Ohio over the weekend for a three-day conference series against the Walsh Cavaliers. In the series, the Eagles continued their hot streak in the scoring category, adding 26 more runs to the season total across the four matchups.
Game one, 7-2 Ashland
In the opening matchup, Ashland took care of business. The Eagles started out with junior pitcher Jackson Grine, who played in the first four innings. Senior pitcher David smith took over in the fifth inning and finished the game. Smith impressed in his showing, striking out six of the 15 batters faced. On the batting side of the ball, junior catcher Nate King led the way for the Eagles with three hits.
Game two, 3-1 Ashland
Saturday featured the only doubleheader in the series, and game one featured an extra inning in which the Eagles were able to take advantage of. Walsh started the game off well, scoring in the bottom of the first. After that, both teams went scoreless until the top of the sixth where the Eagles tied it, and then in the eighth to win. Redshirt sophomore Drew Becker pitched all eight innings for the Eagles, where he struck out 10 of his 27 batters faced.Redshirt freshman Drew Stevens shined at the plate with two hits, and all three runs batted in (RBI)
Game three, 6-1 Ashland
In game three, this is where Ashland found themselves on a roll from the pitcher’s mound. Sophomore Josh Stalnaker (eight) and redshirt sophomore Ben Zink (six) combined for 14 strikeouts through a total of 24 batters faced. Junior Nate King once again led the Eagles in batting with two hits and two RBIs
Game four, 10-11 Walsh
The end of the series was played on Sunday, and the best game came last. With 21 runs scored in total, both teams started off hot. By the end of the second inning, the score was already tied 3-3. From there, the teams went back and forth until Walsh tied it again at 7-7 in the bottom of the eighth. In the top of the ninth, the Eagles thought they solidified a series sweep, as they scored three runs. However, the Cavaliers did not shy away. Beginning with a single shot home run in the bottom of the ninth, Walsh would eventually get multiple players on the bases and walked it off with an Eagle error. Graduate student Chris Franks played well with four hits, one being a home run.
Ashland now advances to 14-8 overall on the season, and 5-3 within the conference. The Eagles will next play host to the Gannon Golden Knights for one game on Mar. 24. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
