MOBILE, Ala. – The WCU baseball team opened its three-game road series at the University of Mobile in emphatic fashion, rolling to a 23–5 run-rule victory Friday night at Mike Jacobs Field.
After Mobile plated a run in the bottom of the first inning, Carey quickly seized control in the second.
Tyler Ducksworth jumpstarted the offense with a solo home run to left field, setting off a six-run frame. A bases-loaded walk to
DeeJay Booth brought home another run before
Hays Carley delivered a two-run single.
Jayden Mark capped the inning with a two-run triple to center, giving the Crusaders a commanding 6–1 lead.
The offensive pressure continued in the third inning as Carey added two more runs on a bases-loaded walk from
Gage Hinnant and an RBI fielder's choice by Booth. The Crusaders extended the lead to 10–1 in the fourth inning, highlighted by RBI singles from
Franklin Hernandez and
Alan McClean.
After being held scoreless in the fifth, Carey put the game away for good in the sixth with a seven-run outburst on six hits. Three straight Crusaders reached base to open the inning before Hinnant drove in the first run with a single to left. Booth followed with a three-run double to center, and Mark later added a two-run double. Ducksworth rounded out the scoring with an RBI groundout, pushing the advantage to 17–1.
Carey's offense was not finished. In the seventh inning,
Barron Frazer crushed a three-run home run to left field, and Hernandez followed a few batters later with his own three-run blast as part of a six-run frame. Mobile responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning and threatened to extend the rally, but the Crusaders worked out of the jam with a fielder's choice groundout that left the bases loaded.
Matthew Davis earned the win on the mound, going six innings while allowing just one run on six hits and striking out four. Offensively, Carey totaled 23 runs on 18 hits, with seven different Crusaders recording multiple RBIs.
WCU returns to action Saturday to wrap up the series with a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m.
