OWENSBORO, Ky. (April 24) – The Tigers were swept in their four-game series with Kentucky Wesleyan Wednesday and Thursday afternoons to wrap-up Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) play.
 
The losses drop the Salem International University baseball team to 8-34 overall and 6-18 in league action. The Tigers, following Ohio Valley's wins over Davis & Elkins, have clinched the No. 6 seed in the upcoming G-MAC Tournament. Meanwhile, the Panthers clinch the No. 3 seed with a 12-8 conference mark and a 29-14 overall mark this season.
 
Kentucky Wesleyan held off a late rally to secure a 5-4 game two win on Wednesday.
 
The Tigers trailed 5-1 entering the fifth inning, before a RBI single by junior Nicco Lollio (Carleton, Mich./Airport) trimmed the deficit to three. Salem International tacked on two more in the sixth. Senior Aaron Alderman (Lakeland, Fla./Lake Gibson) crossed the plate on a ball that got away from the catcher and junior Anthony Bariso (Tarpon Springs, Fla./Tarpon Springs), the reigning G-MAC and ECAC Hitter of the Week, drove in sophomore Trent Dalton (Logan, W.Va./Logan) with a RBI single to pull the Tigers within one run. Despite the push, the Panthers retired Salem International in order in the seventh to hold on for the win.
 
Bariso (1-3) took the loss on the mound after allowing five runs on nine hits with two strikeouts over 4.0 innings on the bump. The Florida native helped his own cause at the plate with three hits and an RBI in the loss.
 
Kentucky Wesleyan scored 10-consecutive runs to open the first game on Thursday in the Tigers 20-3 loss in nine innings.
 
Junior James Adydan (Pulaski, N.Y./Pulaski) dropped his mark to 0-2 this season in the loss. He allowed 10 runs (eight earned) on seven hits over 2.0 innings of work.
 
Lollio and senior Manny Dominguez (Bronx, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics) each tallied three hits, with Lollio added two RBI in the loss.
 
The Panthers kept rolling on Friday with another 10-unanswered spurt to open a game in their 13-4 win over Salem International in game one.
 
The Tigers broke through in the fifth when Bariso was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to plate a run. Dominguez added another with a RBI single to cut the Kentucky Wesleyan lead to 10-2.
 
After the Panthers scored twice in the bottom of the fifth, junior Rahul Badve (Mississauga, Ontario/Woodlands Secondary) connected on a RBI double to make the score 12-3. Lollio added a sacrifice fly in the seventh, but Salem International did not push across anymore runs.
 
Senior pitcher Cam Hall (Fort Erie, Ontario/Lakeshore Catholic) dropped his record to 2-4 this season after allowing 10 runs on 11 hits with four strikeouts over 4.0 innings on the mound.
 
Badve and Dominguez led the Tigers at the dish with two hits and a RBI apiece.
 
Kentucky Wesleyan wrapped up the four-game sweep with a 9-2 win in the final game.
 
The Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 lead, before Badve delivered his second RBI double of the day in the fourth inning to trim the deficit to two runs.
 
Kentucky Wesleyan responded with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, and home runs in the sixth and seventh innings to take a 9-1 lead. The Tigers plated another run in the ninth on a wild pitch, but scattered four hits over the final five innings leading to the loss.
 
Freshman Dolan Kunkel (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Centennial Collegiate) fell to 3-8 this season after allowing six runs (four earned) on two hits over 3.0 innings pitched. Kunkel struck out two, but issued six walks in the loss.
 
Bariso led the team at the plate with three hits (all singles) in the loss.
 
Salem International wraps up the regular season next week with a pair of regional doubleheaders against G-MAC opponents. The Tigers will conclude the home portion of the 2015 season on Tuesday, April 28 with a doubleheader against Alderson Broaddus. The doubleheader, which will not count towards conference standings, will begin at 1 p.m.