Stillman College Baseball Tops Wiley In HBCU Classic At Pittsburgh's PNC Park

PITTSBURGH, PA — Stillman College baseball won a high-scoring affair on one of the biggest stages in professional baseball Monday night with a 16-11 win over Wiley College at Pittsburgh's PNC Park in the HBCU Baseball Classic.

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The Tigers got on the board first in the exhibition contest after Bobby Woodard led off the night with a single and scored on a wild pitch.

Moments later, Bilal Whittle — son of Tigers baseball coach Terrance Whittle — scored on a deep sac fly by Kobe Lewis, marking his first of four RBI on the evening. He then added a 2-run single in the bottom of the second, followed by a Sam Fleming RBI single to put the Tigers up 5-0.

The Wildcats clawed back, however, taking advantage of Stillman's struggles out of the bullpen to go up 9-7 in the top of the fourth.

This, however, provided an exciting atmosphere in a big league ballpark that ultimately saw the Tigers come out with the victory.

In the bottom of the fifth inning Lewis singled in a run, followed by a Josh Ervin single to tie the game, 9-9. The RBI single was then followed by a two-run single from Jared Hines to right to give Stillman the lead 11-9.

Ervin came up big again in the sixth inning, beating out an infield single that scored two on a hit-and-run. Ervin would lead Stillman at the dish with a 3-for-6 night, while Lewis and Hines each had two hits.

The Tigers were also able to work 12 pitchers on the mound during the exhibition game, with Steven Oates getting the start. Oates, Griff Minor and Isidro Jimenez Rosario each pitched one no-hit inning.

Bobby Woodard was credited with the win after quieting the Wiley bats in the fifth inning.

"We were really excited about having an opportunity to play here, what it does for our program and what it does for our school in terms of getting us more visibility in this part of the country," Coach Whittle said following the win. "It was great to be here with the revelry that the park has and the excitement the park gives off the players and the fans. One of the best parts about it was the foul ball chasing. I think everyone got a kick out of that and hearing the applause when a kid got the ball. That made the atmosphere any better."

In addition to the players getting a taste of the big leagues, Stillman College President Cynthia Warrick was also honored by getting to throw out the first pitch. As Patch previously reported, Warrick is set to retire next year.

"We want to thank the [HBCU] Collaborative for inviting us. We got a chance to showcase our school, showcase our athletes, talk about our brand a little bit and also help bring some students to Stillman College," Coach Whittle said.

The team will remain in Pittsburgh until Wednesday and will use the trip as an opportunity to visit local high school students to talk about HBCU opportunities.

The Tigers will begin its NAIA baseball season in February 2023.

Here are some shots from the game ...

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