KWU Baseball Season Underway
Written by Shaw Lee on February 20, 2025
The Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes baseball team began their season with a trip down to Louisiana. They took on LSU-Alexandria and Louisiana Christian University in a pair of double headers.
The Coyotes took a 12-hour bus ride down to Alexandria a day early to get practice in. This was the first time they were able to be on a field since coming back from winter break because of all the snow on the ground.
Day 1
The first game on Saturday, the Yotes, started off hot. Senior Jacob Williamson led off the game with a double on the first pitch. He scored on an RBI single by junior Garrett Garfield. Senior right-handed pitcher Nathan Righi was excellent in his first outing of the year. He went five shutout innings, allowing only one hit to go along with five strikeouts.
Senior relief pitcher Ritter Steinman came in relief in the sixth inning and allowed a two-run home run to the Generals of LSUA. That proved to be all they needed as they held on for the 2-1 victory in seven innings.
The Yotes looked to get back in the win column immediately and started off hot in game 2. They took an early 2-0 lead in the first with a sac fly from junior Cruz Oxford and an RBI single by junior Fernando Ruvalcaba. Then the Generals would answer back for one run before KW rallied and took a 9-1 lead.
Coyote starter Brett Maddock gritted through 5 innings, giving up three runs. The Yotes looked like they would cruise to a victory, with Maddock in line for the victory, until the bottom of the seventh. The Coyote pitching staff couldn’t close the door, and after three pitchers, a couple hits, and several walks later, the Generals walked it off with a final score of 11-10.
Day 2
The Coyotes looked to bounce back Saturday against the Wildcats of Louisian Christian University in nearby Pineville. It was another low-scoring afair against the Wildcats, as things were all knotted up in the 6th at 0-0 when Michael Rago broke up the tie scoring on a wild pitch, and Ruvalcaba added on another with a double to center. That proved to be plenty of support for senior pitcher Nathan Galusha, who threw a gem. He threw a complete game shutout, striking out 11 while only allowing one walk and five hits.
KW looked to leave Louisiana with a 2-2 record as they went into the last game of the series. After one, it was tied at one. Then the Wildcats would then jump out to a 4-1 lead after scoring three in the third. The Yotes would not go quiet though as juniors Carter Allen and Drew Wardell drew walks to drive in runs. But that would be all for the Coyotes, as they could not push another run across.
Looking Ahead
The Coyotes will look to bounce back this upcoming weekend as they have four more games. In the KWU baseball classic, the Yotes will take on Doane University, William Penn University, and the University of Science & Arts twice at Dean Evans Stadium. Finally, here’s a link to the full schedule. 2025 Baseball Schedule – Kansas Wesleyan University
