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Asbury athletics fielded four teams of competition this past week, headed by six softball games and five baseball games. Mens basketball traveled to Oakland City for the Mideast Region Championship, while track and field competed in their first outdoor race of the season.

 

Baseball

After a three-game sweep over Rockford, Asbury baseball (4-4) traveled to Oakland City, In., for the second road midweek contest in two weeks. The Eagles fell 13-1 to the No. 4 ranked team in the NCCAA last Tuesday afternoon, Oakland City College (13-5). Noah Brown led AU with two hits and the only RBI and run scored of the game with a solo home run to left center in the top of the fifth. Quinn Nobles continued his offensive success with another hit, taking him to eight in five games. Freshman Aaron Beaman got the first extra base hit of his career with a double down the left field line at the top of the seventh. Eli Wilder had four strikeouts out of his six outs received.

Jackson Cole went 6.2 innings with four strikeouts and only one earned run to grab his second win of the season for the Eagles on Saturday night against Ohio Northern (0-1) in Winchester. The Eagles hosted game one of the weekend three-game series at George Rogers Clark High School. Senior Josh Head hit a grand slam in the first inning to power Asbury’s offense to an early lead they carried to the win. Andrew Billington and Nobles each scored two runs, Nobles with a double and a walk. Kaden Dugle also had a base hit. Freshman right-hander Nathan Kaufman came on in the sixth for 2.1 innings to close the game with two strikeouts and two earned runs.

After taking game one of the three-game series, Asbury slipped in both games to Ohio Northern University (2-1) on day two to drop the series. Asbury had 15 hits on the day and three errors, but Ohio Northern (ONU) exploded offensively with 24 hits in the two games to score 15 runs and take the series (10-4 and 5-2). Matthew Johnson and Noah Comstock each had two-hit games, Comstock with a stolen base and RBI while Johnson had two RBIs. Sophomore right-hander Cayden Devine got the start in game one for AU and went five innings with only three earned and six hits against a strong ONU offense. Freshman Ryan Yates went 2-4 with a run scored and a double off the left-center wall. Yates also went four innings out of the bullpen with only one earned run. Dugle had two hits on the day, including a double with two runs scored and an RBI. Caleb Poll and Brady Robeson gave AU three combined scoreless innings to finish game one. Freshman Devin Walker started game two for AU with five innings of pitching and four earned runs.

 

Softball

Asbury (3-5) recorded 18 hits across their doubleheader against Berea College last Tuesday afternoon, sweeping Berea 14-0 and 13-3. Freshman Emma Popplewell helped lead AU in their victory, collecting her first collegiate grand slam in game one. Popplewell went on to collect a total of three hits from six at-bats, with seven RBIs. Josie Deatherage was a force on the mound, collecting a season-high 11 Ks and one run allowed through the series. Taylor Enlow aided in game two’s victory with seven strikeouts and two runs allowed. Taylor Enlow went 3-5 on the day with a double and one RBI. Freshman Abigail Moffat collected two hits, four walks, six runs and two stolen bases. Samantha Bottom went 1-3 on the day with two runs and her first triple of the season. Katelyn Bolin went 3-7 on the day with two runs and two RBIs. 

Asbury traveled to Covenant College (1-7) on Saturday for a weekend contest against the Scots. The Eagles fell in game one 7-2 but quickly retaliated in game two, with freshman Moffat recording an impressive two home runs to lead AU to a 5-1 win. With Josie Deatherage on the mound for game two, she recorded ten strikeouts against the Scots, and only allowed one run. The Eagles recorded 11 hits across their doubleheader, with two home runs and two doubles on the day. Asbury freshmen accounted for six of their 11 hits on the day. Moffat finished the day going 4-7 with three hits in game two. Kaitlyn Wilson went 3-5 on the day, recording a hit in both games with a run and a stolen base on the day. Enlow went 2-4 in game two with a double and three RBIs. Popplewell collected one hit and two walks on the day. 

On Monday afternoon, Asbury hosted NCCAA opponent Oakland City (7-7) for a midweek doubleheader. Despite early runs made by AU, they ultimately fell to the Mighty Oaks offensive power, dropping game one 8-2 and game two 1-0. The Eagles found their hits early in game one, with a hit and a homer by Taylor Enlow to give them an early 2-0 lead. Oakland City responded with eight hits and eight runs to take the win for game one. Game two was a battle for both teams to bring players home, despite 10 hits across the teams. Oakland City capitalized in the third and held their 1-0 lead for the remainder of the game. Asbury had 12 hits on the day and four errors, but OCU exploded offensively with 16 hits in the two games. Deatherage started on the mound in game one, pitching a full game and collecting three Ks with only one walk. Freshman Sidney Hansen started her first collegiate game, picking up two strikeouts and zero walks. Moffat collected three hits on the day and scored a run. Kaitlyn Bolin picked up two solid hits throughout the doubleheader.

 

Mens basketball

Dakota Walden scored 28 points in the NCCAA Mideast Region Championship on Saturday afternoon in Oakland City, In., but AU (16-9) fell short to Alice Lloyd College (14-15), 78-71. 

Alice Lloyd led 35-34 at the break after Asbury’s 19-10 run and then outscored AU 43-37 with 52% shooting in the second half to give Asbury their first loss in eight contests. Luke Imfeld scored his career-high at AU with 19 points on three threes, four rebounds, one assist and a steal. Clayton Winter grabbed 14 boards with eight points and two assists. The Eagles will now await and see if they claim an at-large bid for the NCCAA National Tournament in Winona Lake, In.

 

Mens and womens track and field

Asbury track and field opened the 2024 outdoor season on Saturday in Roma, Ga., at the Berry College Victor Ice Breakers Meet, setting two AU school records and qualifying five student-athletes for the NCCAA National Championships. Dan Kersey, Cameron Tapp, Brendan Funke, Bailey Gassmann and Luke Wheatley all qualified for NCCAA Nationals. Below listed are the NCCAA qualifying scores: 

 

NCCAA Qualifiers

Name Event Time/Mark

• Dan Kersey 5000 Meters 16:03.80s
• Cameron Tapp 5000 Meters 16:02.93s
• Brendan Funke Shot Put 13.38m / 43′ 10.75″
• Bailey Gassmann 5000 Meters 19:23.14s
• Luke Wheatley 400 Meter Dash 50.81

 

Asbury baseball player Quinn Nobles on Mar. 2 in the Eagles 7-3 win over Ohio Northern. (Asbury Athletics photo)