Lexington, KY – Massive hitting displays from Riley Willbur and Michael Blair powered the Pioneers towards defeating the Manchester Spartans 17-2 in the first leg of Saturday's doubleheader and 12-1 in the second leg at Legends Ballpark on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Pioneers grabbed both victories to move up to 3-2 on the year while Manchester dropped to 2-4 overall.
 
Manchester opened the scoring in the top of the first inning with a pair of runs as Pioneer ace Jake Schmidt looked to find his groove on the mound.
 
The Pioneers answered with a run in the bottom of the frame, courtesy of a solo home run to right field from Willbur, cutting the deficit to 2-1 while sparking the Pioneer offense.
 
Schmidt found his rhythm in the second inning where he started his stretch of five consecutive strikeouts, firing up the bench in the process.
 
With two outs in the bottom of the second inning, Trent Pahl walked and stole second to place the Pioneers in scoring position. Two costly Spartan errors coupled with a triple down the right field line from Willbur extended the Pioneer advantage to 4-2. 
 
The Pioneer bats exploded in the third inning, as the entire lineup batted through while pushing seven runs across on five hits.
 
Blair began the assault by leading off with a double to the warning track. Parker Tuszynski belted an RBI single through the left side, followed by a walk to load the bases for the Pioneers. Willbur delivered once more with a two-run single up the middle. TJ Keck and Blair continued battering the Spartan pitching by hammering a pair of 2-RBI hits to open a substantial 11-2 lead.
 
Blair reignited the offense in the fifth inning with a laced single to left centerfield to score two more runs. The Pioneers took advantage of a set of loaded bases in the seventh inning with an RBI walk drawn by Matt Armstrong, a single from Griffin Hall, and a double from Brennan Perry, pushing the lead out to the final margin of 17-2.
 
Jake Schmidt dealt an efficient five innings of work, collecting eight strikeouts while issuing zero walks and only two runs on four hits.
 
Riley Willbur went 3 for 4 with a home run, triple and single, four RBI, and three runs scored.
 
Michael Blair had a perfect showing at the plate going 4 for 4 with three singles, a double, and four RBI.   
 
In the second leg, the bats stayed hot for the Pioneers as they jumped out to an early advantage; back-to-back doubles from Blair and Keck spotted Transylvania a 2-0 lead after the first inning.
 
Manchester answered with a run of their own via a sacrifice fly in the third inning. The Pioneers replied in the bottom of the frame with a pair of runs. Hudson Chastain drove Willbur home with a single to centerfield and later scored on a wild pitch by Manchester, resulting a 4-1 lead for the Pioneers.
 
The Pioneers seized control in the fourth inning behind a three-run blast from Riley Willbur extending the advantage to 7-1. Devyn Wilson-Cowan provided insurance in the sixth with an RBI single followed by RBIs from Willbur and Chastain.
 
The contest had a fitting emphatic ending in the seventh inning as Andrew Winningham launched a no-doubter walk-off home run to right field in his first at bat of the year, earning the Pioneers a 12-1 victory. 
 
Devon Hart got the win with five innings pitched, collecting five strikeouts, and surrendering one run on three hits.
 
Riley Willbur paced the offense again going 4 for 4 with three singles, a home run, four RBI, and a stolen base in the contest.
 
The Pioneers are slated for a doubleheader against the Defiance College Yellow Jackets on Sunday, March 14 at Craig A. Rutter Field in Defiance, Ohio, the Pioneers' first road games of the 2021 season.
 
First pitch for the opening game is set for 1:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight time.
 
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