On Tuesday, the Bulldogs of Tennessee Wesleyan continued their march through the NAIA World Series field by defeating in-state rival Lee 13-3.
Truth be told, the Bulldogs didn't just beat the Flames, they bludgeoned them with an arsenal of line drives, home runs, stolen bases and anything else that would indicate a masterful offensive performance.
In a game advertised as a marquee matchup of the Series' two remaining unbeaten teams, only one club fit the bill.
Lee, however, is hardly the only group to be humbled by Tennessee Wesleyan's relentless barrage in the last week.
After entering the Series with an all-time mark of 0-4, the Bulldogs blasted Embry-Riddle 17-3 on the first day to get off the schneid, and then coasted to a relatively comfortable 8-6 victory over tournament darling Rogers State on Monday.
With 38 runs in three games, it's no surprise that Tennessee Wesleyan also leads all Series participants in batting average (.350), slugging percentage (.625), hits (42) and home runs (8).
But you won't hear them crowing about their gaudy numbers.
"We want to be the aggressor every game," Bulldog senior shortstop Stephen Branca said. "Offensively we want to be aggressive in everything we do and we want to take the game to them. That's what we've been doing and it hasn't failed us yet."
What Branca means is that not only do the Bulldogs pound the ball to all fields up and down the lineup, but they also like to steal bases, hit-and-run and bunt when necessary.
Lee was witness to the all of these things on Tuesday.
Of the nine Bulldog starters, only two failed to score a run and only one was left hitless by the time the Flames were extinguished.
Tennessee Wesleyan also added three more stolen bases to its Series-leading total of 10 and has yet to be caught in the act.
In the rare event that the Bulldogs do make an offensive mistake, they still find a way to come out on top.
Take Branca's mad scramble in Tuesday's fourth inning, for example.
With Branca on second and Anthony Boix on third, Taylor Oldham hit a routine grounder toward Lee second baseman Blake Barber with one out.
Caught several feet away from second, Barber chose to make a lunge at Branca instead of taking the sure out at first.
Branca was ruled safe and Boix scored as Barber dove at second base.
Two pitches later, Jordan Guida brought both Branca and Oldham home on a long home run to center.
"I think our kids are just locked in right now," Tennessee Wesleyan coach Billy Berry said. "I think it's a situation where they're taking good approaches and good AB's. They're not being selfish with their hacks and playing team baseball."
And with 21 straight wins to their credit, no one is playing better team baseball than the Bulldogs.
---
Warzocha may be contacted at twarzocha@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2260. Follow him on Twitter @lmtribTroyW.
