Tennessee Wesleyan Sweeps Eagles in High-Scoring Doubleheader

Waleska, GA - Tennessee Wesleyan swept Reinhardt in a Saturday doubleheader at Ken White Field, holding off a late Eagles rally for a 19-15 win in Game 1 before taking the nightcap 8-4 in Waleska. The decisive stretch came early in the opener, when Tennessee Wesleyan scored five runs in the first inning and seven more in the third to build a cushion Reinhardt could not fully erase.

Game 1 turned into an offensive sprint almost immediately. David Ballenilla opened the scoring with an RBI double in the top of the first, Allan Gil Fernandez followed with a two-run homer, and Kolton Reynolds added another two-run shot as Tennessee Wesleyan surged ahead 5-0. Reinhardt answered with a run in the first and another in the second, but the Bulldogs broke the game open further in the third. Jacob Tolson delivered a two-run single during the inning, and Tennessee Wesleyan pushed its lead to 12-1.

The Eagles kept swinging. Reinhardt scored five runs in the fourth inning to cut into the deficit, then added three more in the sixth. Ryan Stephens led the home offense with three hits, three runs and three RBIs, including two home runs. Reinhardt finished Game 1 with 17 hits, including five doubles, a triple and three home runs, but Tennessee Wesleyan matched that pressure with 19 hits and four homers. Ballenilla went 4 for 6 with three doubles, three runs and six RBIs, while Reynolds had three hits, two home runs and six RBIs. Fernandez added three hits, two home runs and four RBIs. Cade Chamlee also homered in game one, making it his second in two days and sixth of the season.  Stephens also has six home runs in 2026.

Reinhardt made one final charge in the bottom of the ninth, scoring five times to trim the margin to four. The rally featured key extra-base contact from the middle of the order, but Tennessee Wesleyan held on to finish the 19-15 win. Tennessee Wesleyan did not commit an error in the opener, while Reinhardt was charged with two. The Bulldogs also stole seven bases and drew eight walks in a game that lasted all nine innings.

The second game was tighter for much of the afternoon. Tennessee Wesleyan scored four runs in the second inning, getting an RBI single from Jonathan Bosque, another run on an error and a two-run home run from Ethan Wright. Reinhardt answered in the bottom of the third, with Cannon Dorsey driving a three-run homer down the right-field line as the Eagles tied the score at 4-4.

That deadlock lasted until the fifth, when Tennessee Wesleyan delivered the deciding blow. Brayan Espinoza doubled in two runs, and Thomas Teel followed later in the inning with a two-run double to restore control at 8-4. From there, starter McGwire Taylor kept Reinhardt off the board after the third-inning rally. Taylor worked six innings, allowed seven hits and four earned runs, struck out seven and earned the win. Reinhardt finished the nightcap with seven hits, while Tennessee Wesleyan totaled nine and again played error-free baseball.

Reinhardt showed offensive punch across both games, scoring 19 total runs. Still, Tennessee Wesleyan's early inning production proved too much to overcome, especially in game one of the doubleheader, and the Bulldogs left Waleska with both ends of the twin bill. Stephens, Chamlee, and Dorsey were the definite bright spots of the tough series, with each providing some spark in the Eagles' lineup in all of the games.

The Eagles' AAC record drops to 8-10, putting them in ninth place as the regular season comes to a close in the next three weeks.  They play CIU on the road this upcoming week after a midweek game at Freed-Hardeman. The final two series for the Eagles will be matchups with Pikeville at home and Truett McConnell on the road to close out the season.