FORT PIERCE, Fla. – The Kenyon College baseball team began its 2016 schedule with Sunday's neutral-site doubleheader against the Wilkes University Colonels. Wilkes took the first game, 7-3, at the Lawnwood complex, but Kenyon evened the score with an 11-3 game-two victory.

Senior Paul Henshaw (0-1) took the hill in game one for the Lords. He went five solid innings before the Colonels were able to score some runs. Henshaw allowed just one hit through five, but in the top of the sixth inning a Kenyon error opened the door for four runs to cross the plate for the Colonels.

Prior to those four runs, Kenyon junior Andrew Petersdorf smashed a home run in the fifth inning to give the Lords their first tally of the season. After those four runs scored, Kenyon responded with two in the bottom of the sixth to make the score 4-3 in favor of Wilkes. Mikey Arman and Jason Clebowicz came up with hits and then Petersdorf drove them both home with a two-out single.

In the top of the seventh, Wilkes extended its lead after Joe Champi belted a three-run homer off Kenyon reliever Connor Farrell. In the bottom of the inning, Kenyon had no response.

Starter Chris Nixon picked up the pitching win for Wilkes (2-2) after going five innings and giving up one run on four hits and two walks. Henshaw suffered the loss even though he yielded just five hits and struck out seven.

Petersdorf paced the Kenyon offense, going 2-for-3 with a run and three RBI.

In game two, Kenyon's bats came to life, pounding out 14 hits. Leadoff man Matt von Roemer racked up three hits and scored three times in four at-bats. Tyler Roldan, Arman, Phillip Nam and Matt Contreras added two hits apiece. Arman piled up three RBI and Contreras scored three times.

On the mound, starter Sam Gillespie (1-0) enjoyed the wealth of offense and picked up the pitching win after tossing a little more than five innings. He gave up seven hits and walked one, but also fanned six Wilkes batters. Senior Spencer Byers finished things off in the sixth and seventh innings, yielding just one hit.

The Lords scored one in the first inning and then used a two-run single from Arman in the third inning to post four more runs. In the fourth, an unearned Kenyon run crossed the plate and in the sixth, an unfortunate injury to a Wilkes player allowed two more Kenyon runs to score. The Lords then capped off the contest with a three-run seventh inning that included a couple of wild pitches and an RBI single from Cormac Jewell.

Kenyon (1-1) will get right back to work at Lawnwood on Monday with a 1 p.m. game against Drew University, followed by a 4:30 contest against University of Northwestern (MN).