By Garret Levan, Sports Information Assistant

Lexington, Ky. – The Transylvania baseball team split the final two games of its home-opening weekend on Sunday afternoon against the No. 12 Denison University Big Red, losing an 11-10 heartbreaker in the first game of the day before completing the weekend with a 6-5 victory.

For the weekend overall, the Pioneers claimed two of three victories over the nationally-ranked Big Red for their second and third wins of the season over teams ranked in the top 25.

The wins also served as the second and third overall of the year as the Pioneers moved to 3-3 in 2020. 

In the first game of the afternoon, Transylvania's bats came alive to the tune of 13 hits, highlighted by a five-run seventh inning. After a back-and-forth series of scoring punches, the Pioneers were knotted up at 10-10 going into the ninth inning. Denison drove in what would be the game-winning run with an RBI triple in the top half of the frame, and the Pioneers were unable to respond with a corresponding run in the bottom of the ninth. 

Behind a solo home run shot from TJ Keck in the second inning and the first career home run from Hudson Chastain in the bottom of the third inning, a 3-1 lead materialized for Transylvania after three innings of play.

Denison clawed back with a four-run fourth inning and tacked on another run in the fifth to grab a 6-3 lead. 

The Pioneers responded in the bottom of the sixth as Hudson Chastain and TJ Keck hit back-to-back singles. Medford brought home Chastain on an ensuing single and Keck later scored on a wild pitch to cut into the deficit, bringing the score to 6-5 in favor of Denison.

Transylvania unleashed a five-run seventh inning as Parker Tuszynski added a pair of RBI of his own, scoring Wade Lopiccolo and TJ Keck on a two-run single. The base hit by Tuszynski punctuated an inning preceded by an RBI single from Chastain and an RBI via error for Lopiccolo to score both Willbur and Chastain. The outburst provided Transy with their largest lead of the game at 10-7.

Transy saw the lead evaporate in the last two innings as Denison plated three runs in the top of the eighth to tie the game, and added the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth.

Jake Schmidt got the start for Transy, throwing 5.1 innings and allowing nine hits and six earned runs while striking out four. Luke Wilson was charged with his first loss of the year for Transylvania, working the final two innings and yielding five hits and a walk against four strikeouts.

Hudson Chastain, Riley Willbur, and TJ Keck all tallied three hits apiece for Transy while combining for five RBI.

The Pioneers answered back in game two of the afternoon with the final clutch answer this time belonging to the home team.

Transy scored a go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning on a TJ Keck home run, his second of the doubleheader, to reclaim the lead from Denison for a 6-5 win.

Transylvania and Denison took a scoreless game into the bottom of the fourth inning when the Pioneers scored three runs in the bottom of the frame. Catalyzed by a lead-off triple from Willbur, the Pioneers translated four hits into three runs for a 3-0 advantage.

Denison plated its first run of the game in the top of the fifth, but Willbur used a hot bat to drive a two-run homer to right field in the bottom of the fifth for a 5-1 Pioneer lead.

The Big Red used a three-run home run in the top of the sixth to fight back into the game at 5-4, and tied it up in the following inning by scoring on a wild pitch.

In the eighth inning, Keck did the rest with his second home run of the day, launching a shot to left field for a 6-5 Transy lead.

Jared Leuthart worked the seventh and eighth innings to earn the win while Collin Johnson picked up the save as the two relievers allowed no earned runs and just one hit between them.

Starting pitcher Robert Young threw six strong innings for Transy, only allowing three earned runs. Young added five strikeouts and only walked one batter in his outing.

Riley Willbur and TJ Keck led the way offensively for the Pioneers with each recording two hits and combining for three RBI.

The Pioneers return to the diamond on Saturday, March 7 versus the University of Chicago Maroons for a three-game series. The nonconference matchup commences with a Saturday doubleheader at 12:00 noon.

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