MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The Bethel Wildcats and the UPIKE Bears squared off in a MSC doubleheader Friday at McKenzie High School Park.
Game one saw the Bears use the long ball to win 6-1. The Bears growled with a run in the fourth and four runs in the fifth. All five runs were results of three homers by the Bears. Another homer in the top of the sixth gave UPIKE a 6-0 lead. A long ball off the bat of Aidan Morris put the Wildcats on the board in the bottom of the sixth.
The Bears outhit the Wildcats 12-7. Marco Santa suffered the Wildcat loss. Jairemy Pulido picked up the Bear win.
The Cats clawed their way to an 8-0 lead in the second game. Bethel scored eight runs on eight hits in the bottom of the second. JT Morgan had a two RBI single. Noah Foster followed with a two run RBI single. Ivan Vega contributed with an RBI double. Jake McDaniel had the big blow with a three-run dinger to close out the inning. The Bears answered with five runs in the top of the third. McDaniel singled in a run in the bottom of the fifth to give Bethel a 9-5 lead. UPIKE's Tyler Maynard homered in the sixth to cut the Wildcat lead to 9-6. Another Bear run in the seventh cut the Wildcat margin to 9-7. The Cats would go on to win by that score.
The Wildcats outhit the Bears 20-13. Luke Boswell picked up the Wildcat victory. Alexis Rodriguez was credited with the save. Kameron Brodeur suffered the Loss.
The Wildcats are 7-14 overall and 4-4 in the league. The Bears are 8-13 and 2-6.
Bethel leads the all-time series between the two programs at 6-2.
The Cats and Bears close out the series Saturday with a single nine inning game beginning at noon.
Live stats:
https://bethelathletics.com/sports/bsb/2022-23/boxscores/20230310_2qkc.xml
