Lexington, KY 3/5/2023- The Westminster College baseball team was back in action on Sunday for game 3 against the Transylvania University Pioneers. The Blue Jays were looking to avoid the sweep as the Pioneers won two close games on Saturday.
Freshman pitcher Derek Archer (St. Charles, Mo / Francis Howell North) got the nod on the bump for game 3. He would pitch seven innings, recording six strikeouts and walking one. He would give up seven hits total and give up three runs. Two of those runs came in the first two innings as the Pioneers were able to take an early 2-0 lead. The Blue Jay bats made some noise in the top of the fifth inning with Ryan Mills (Festus, Mo / Hancock) getting a leadoff single to center. Steven Diaz (Highland, Il. / Highland) came to the plate and delivered a double to right to score Mills to get Westminster on the board, 2-1. Troy Romero (Trophy Club, TX / Byron Nelson) would walk to put runners on second and first with one out in the inning. Unfortunately, the Blue Jays would record back-to-back outs and be unable to bring in the tying run from second.
Transylvania would score one run in the bottom of the fifth to go up 3-1. In the top of the seventh inning, Skyler Bushey ( Saint Albans, Vt / Bellows Free Academy) would smoke a one-out double to the centerfield gap. Diaz and Romero would get hit by a pitch to load the bases another opportunity to do damage in their frame. Payton Whitehead (Belleville, Il. / Belleville West) singled to right to score Bushey and keep the bases loaded. The Blue Jays would be unable to capitalize and ended the inning only scoring one run to make it 3-2. Transylvania would score their final run of the game in the bottom of the eighth to take a 4-2 lead into the top of the ninth.
Diaz would start the ninth inning with a leadoff walk. Romero would get hit by a pitch to put runners on second and first as the Blue Jays were threatening to tie the game or take the lead with no outs in the inning. Whitehead would put the ball in play and reach on an error, Diaz would come in to score on the play and Romero moved up to third with one out. Spencer Keiser (Old Monroe, Mo / Winfield) would hit a ground ball and reach on a fielders' choice with Whitehead being out on the force at second. The next Blue Jay batter would hit into a game-ending double play with the tying run on third to lose game three of the series 4-3.
The Blue Jays will be back in action next weekend for the home opener against Hannibal-La Grange. The first pitch from Saucier Field is scheduled for 4:00 PM.
