On Tuesday night, the Asbury baseball team won their game against Berea College 15-8, advancing their winning streak to 8.
Before taking on Berea, the team took on Wright State Lake University last weekend in a three-game series in which they swept the win.
“We started off the game well with a run in the first and kept tacking on more runs from there throughout the game. Pitching was strong throughout the whole game, which led us to the victory,” said senior Walker Paris.
According to Asbury Sports, the final scores were 14-6, 11-1, and 6-1. The top performances were from Walker Paris and Jackson Cole in the last game on Saturday.
Paris was 3-5 with 3 RBIs and 2 home runs, marking 10 for him in the season. Having such a good game “Just means that I need to keep it going and do whatever I can to help put the team in the best possible position to win,” said Paris.
Cole went 6 innings on the mound with 7 strikeouts and no earned runs. He also hit a double and scored a run.
“I had a good outing on the mound with the 7 strikeouts through 6 innings,” said Cole. “My only goal while I am pitching is to give our team the best chance to win. I felt like [we] did a good job at giving our team a chance, and our hitters capitalized on the opportunity.
This victory led to their 7th straight win, which is significant for the men after a challenging start. They have now extended their winning streak to 8 games following their game Tuesday.
“We are currently on an 8-game win streak. With only a few weeks left in our season, we are playing our best ball, and everything is clicking at the right time. Hopefully, we can carry the momentum into the post-season and win a championship,” said Cole.
Saturday’s third and final game was their senior day, so the Eagles honored Bryce Barber, Parker Burge, Alec Lush, Chase Neuman, Walker Paris, and Kaiden Zacharia as their time at Asbury comes to a close.
“The day got off to a great start with celebrating the seniors,” Paris told Asbury Sports.
While the recognition was rewarding, the moment was bittersweet for Paris as this now signals the end of his college career.
“It’s upsetting to think about that after many, many years of playing baseball, both competitively and non-competitively, that this is my final time playing the game I love. But I wouldn’t want to play my last year with any other group of teammates and coaches,” said Paris.
In his time, Paris has seen his team as a “crazy family,” which has allowed them to ride the highs and lows together. This season has had just that with their initial struggle to gain traction but newfound momentum.
“I think it’s gone well. We started out a little shaking, but once everyone got the nerves out of their system and started to relax more, we have stepped it up and haven’t looked back since,” said Paris.
The men only have 6 games left in their 2022 season. They take on Mississippi University for Women here today at 4 p.m. in 2 games today and tomorrow.