INSTITUTE, W.V. – The Malone University baseball team dropped two games on Monday to the West Virginia State University Yellow Jackets to split the season-opening series 2-2. West Virginia State (4-2) won game two via a walk-off two-run homerun after the Pioneers plated two in the top of the seventh to take the lead.
GAME ONE RECAP:
Senior
Eric Baum led off the game with a single, but was caught stealing to thwart the scoring attempt. The Yellow Jackets were able to plate the first run of the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the second, but solid pitching on both sides kept it a low-scoring affair.
Freshman
Finn Schmitt got the start and went 3.1 innings for the Pioneers. He struck out five and surrendered one run on three hits and four walks. Senior
Allen Laytart (0-1) relieved him in the fourth and received a double play to end the inning and kept the score at 1-0.
The offense struggled, but senior
Anthony Ryan tried to play hero with a game-tying solo homerun in the top of the sixth to even the score at 1-1. West Virginia State would counter in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI double to take a 2-1 lead. Malone went down 1-2-3 in their final opportunities at the plate in the one-run loss.
GAME TWO RECAP:
A three-run homerun in the bottom of the first inning put the host Yellow Jackets on top early in the final game of the series, but the Pioneers responded with two runs during their next set of plate appearances. Senior
Zach Flohr drove in sophomore
Jake Barker and senior
Jordan Stevens with an RBI double to cut the deficit to one.
The starting pitcher junior
Jacob Rollyson settled in from there and ended his appearance after four innings. He allowed the three runs (two earned) and struck out three. Junior
Ayden Hall and senior
TJ Curry each had a scoreless inning of relief work to get to the seventh and final inning of regulation with a 3-2 score.
Down to their final out, redshirt junior
Allen Diaz was called upon as a pinch hitter and came through with a first-pitch RBI single. Baum followed that up with a double that gave Malone the lead and he scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-3.
Redshirt sophomore
Jackson Schwalbach (0-1) arose from the Pioneer bullpen to try to collect the save, but he was unable to do so. A walk-off two-run homerun by the Yellow Jackets propelled them to victory in the final game of a four-game series.
UP NEXT:
Malone will host West Liberty University for their first home games of the 2025 season on Friday, February 28. The doubleheader begins at 12:00 P.M.
