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UMW Baseball Tops Wesley, 16-11, to Advance to CAC Championship Round

UMW Baseball Tops Wesley, 16-11, to Advance to CAC Championship Round

The University of Mary Washington baseball team erased a four run deficit in the seventh inning with nine runs in defeating Wesley College, 16-11, in the semifinal round of the 2017 Capital Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday in Salisbury, Md. The Eagles will face Salisbury in the finals, needing to win twice to claim the title.

In a wild game that had more twists and turns than a novel, the Eagles scored one run in the first, as Brian Burns walked and scored on a David Slupek groundout. Wesley went ahead with three runs in the second, but the Eagles tied the score with two in the bottom of the inning. Kyle Bynum tripled and scored on a Ramsis Ruiz single, and Ruiz scored on a Burns single.

The Eagles went ahead with a run in the third, as Stephen Johnston doubled and scored on a Bynum single. The Eagles tacked on three runs in the fourth, as Thomas Weaver led off with a home run, and Christian Hague and David Slupek scored on fielder's choices.

Wesley mounted a comeback in the fifth with two runs to cut the margin to 7-5. Wesley pulled ahead with a six run sixth inning, but UMW roared back with nine runs in the seventh.

After Ramsis Ruiz was hit by a pitch, Mark Smith connected for a two-run homer. Hague drove in a pair of runs with a double, and Ruiz drove in another run with a bases loaded single. Smith followed with his second homer of the inning - a grand slam - to put UMW up, 16-11.

Smith went 3-4 with two home runs and six RBI to lead the Eagles, while Weaver, Hague, Slupek, Johnston, Bynum, and Ruiz each had two hits.

Sophomore Jonathan Truba gained the win in relief, allowing one earned run on two hits in two innings.

The Eagles will face Salisbury in the Championship round on Saturday. Game one is set to start at 11:00 am.