Newberry, SC – Southern Wesleyan split the opening series against the Newberry Wolves on Friday. They won the first game in a 6-5 final before dropping game two 6-4.
The Warriors collected 12 hits in the first game of the 2026 season. Four Warriors had two hits in the game with both Nolan Evatt and Ethan Shimmel picking up doubles in the win. Kade Bowling and Evatt each had two RBIs. Matthew McCaffrey walked three times and four Warriors stole bases. Gavin Chandler started the game for the Warriors and pitched five innings while only allowing five hits to pick up the first win of the season. Logan Brazell had the lone strikeout of the game and Nick Gonsalves picked up the save.
Southern Wesleyan had seven hits in game two of the evening. Nolan Evatt led the team with two hits. Ethan Shimmel hit the first home run of the season for the Warriors and had three RBIs off the hit. Luke Taylor had two of the five walks. Taylor went on to have the lone stolen base for the Warriors. Tanner Lewis started the second game of the series and struck out four batters in the 3.2 innings he pitched. Cayden Towell and Lukas Arvantides also spent time on the mound in game two. Arvantides struck out two batters.
Game Vitals
Game One Final: Southern Wesleyan 6, Newberry 5
Game Two Final: Newberry 6, Southern Wesleyan 4
Records: Southern Wesleyan (1-1) Newberry (1-1)
How It Happened
Game One
Southern Wesleyan got on the board early in their opening game of the 2026 season. Kade Bowling led off the top of the first by hitting a single into left field. Bowling advanced to second as an error in the infield allowed Nolan Evatt to reach first. Cole Kirschner flew out to right field, but Bowling was able to advance to third on the play to get into scoring position. As Evatt went to steal second, Bowling took off and stole home plate to bring in the first run of the game for the Warriors. With two outs, Ethan Shimmel hit a double to deep left center field to bring Evatt in to score and give the Warriors a 2-0 run advantage.
The Warriors extended their lead in the top of the second inning. Matthew McCaffrey led off the inning by reaching first on a walk. He advanced to second as Chance Kennedy put the ball into play. Kennedy went on to reach first on an error by the Wolves' pitcher. With one out and two on, Kade Bowling hit into a fielder's choice that allowed McCaffrey to come in to score. Kennedy was called out on the play to leave Bowling as the lone Warrior on base. However, the Warriors were not done as Nolan Evatt hit a double down the left field line to bring Bowling in to score and extend Southern Wesleyan's lead to 4-0.
In the top of the fourth inning the Warriors brought in another couple of runs. Matthew McCaffrey led off the inning by hitting a single into center field. With one out, Ethan Jarvis knocked the ball down the left field line for a single that allowed McCaffrey to advance to third base. Jarvis moved over to second on a wild pitch. With runners in scoring position, Kade Bowling hit a single through the right side to bring McCaffrey in to score. Nolan Evatt came up to bat with runners at the corners and hit into a fielder's choice that allowed Jarvis to come in to score the Warriors' sixth run of the game.
Newberry got on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning as a couple hit by pitches and a walk to Compton allowed Busenlehn to come in to score the Wolves first run of the game.
The Wolves brought in a couple more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning as a ground out by Mims and then a wild pitch brought two runs in to score.
Newberry attacked again in the ninth inning as a single off the bat of Busenlehn brought Lugo in to score the Wolves fourth run of the game. Nuckols hit a sacrifice fly out to put the Wolves within one run of Southern Wesleyan. However, Nick Gonsalves stayed strong on the mound as he forced Leshko to fly out for the Warriors to claim a 6-5 victory in their season opener.
Game Two
The Wolves were the first on the board in the second game of the afternoon as a single by Osbon allowed Compton to come in to score. They extended their lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the second inning as Mims homered to left field.
Southern Wesleyan cut Newberry's lead in half in the top of the third inning. Matthew McCaffrey reached first after being hit by a pitch. McCaffrey advanced to third as Kade Bowling hit a single through the left side of the field. With runners on the corners, Nolan Evatt hit into a double play, but McCaffrey was able to come in to score the first run of the game for the Warriors.
A single by Lugo allowed Newberry to extend their lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The Warriors would not go down quietly as they rallied in the top of the sixth inning. Cole Kirschner hit a single through the right side and then advanced to second as an error by the second baseman allowed Perry Dyer to reach first. With two on base, Ethan Shimmel drilled the ball over the right center field wall to allow the Warriors to take a 4-3 run lead over the Wolves.
Southern Wesleyan's lead was short lived as Newberry fought back in the bottom of the sixth inning as a series of singles allowed them to bring three more runs in to score. The Wolves went on to win the game in a 6-4 final score.
What's Next
The Warriors will travel to Montgomery, AL on February 6-7 to take on the Auburn Montgomery Warhawks. They will then host their home opener on February 10 against the Mars Hill Lions at 4pm. Southern Wesleyan will travel to Augusta, GA on February to take on the Augusta Jaguars before traveling up to Young Harris, GA to open up Conference Carolinas action against the Young Harris Mountain Lions on February 13-14.
