Max Odum Joins Express Royalty, Wells Achieves Vital Split vs Redhawks

AURORA, NY - The strength and depth of the Express baseball program was put to the test on Saturday as they welcomed La Roche for what was potentially their most important series of the year. On a very windy day up at the Wells College Turf, the hosts managed to adapt to the rough conditions and unforeseen challenges as they clawed their way to a weekend split against the Redhawks, falling in game 1 by a score of 6-1, but rebounding big and riding a huge rally to take game 2 in a 8-6 nailbiter. 

On a day that may very well have served as the defining moment of the season for a program-defining senior class, one senior managed to come up huge and etch his name into the Wells College record books in the process. 

In the 5th inning of game 1, Express senior captain Max Odum found his stride, lacing an RBI double to left center field. Not only did the base-knock get Odum back on track but it also altered the Express record books in a seismic fashion. With the double, Odum logged his 160th career hit, leaving him alone at the mountaintop on the Express' all-time hits leader list. Odum passed former Wells slugger Dylan Nolan who ended his career with 159 hits. Odum's record-breaking rocket also served as an energizer, with Wells using the motivation provided from the momentous occasion to hop on the La Roche pitchers early in the 2nd matchup. 

Game 1 was a nightmare for the Express, as bad bounces and timely errors caused them to sail to a 6-1 defeat. To add onto the misery, Wells lost the services of 2 of their most outstanding and important batters heading into game 2.

Despite the sudden holes in what had been a consistent Express lineup, Wells hit all the right buttons as they put forth an offensive performance that was truly a masterpiece in roster management. 

It seemed as if a breakout was imminent early in the 2nd matchup when Wells began taking the Redhawk pitcher all over the yard, recording 6 hits in the first 3 innings, but procuring 0 runs to show for it. 

The Express would make a little dent in the 4th inning, getting 2 runs to bring themselves even at 2 apiece with La Roche. Although it was the 6th inning where things truly got interesting. 

La Roche put up a 3-spot in the top half of the 6th frame, getting out to a 5-2 lead. It seemed like Wells' window was closing, a defeat would put them at 3-7 in conference and vault the Redhawks safely out of reach, making it extremely hard to catch La Roche in the AMCC standings. With their backs up against the wall, the Express stood tall and exploded in the bottom half of the 6th. 

Wells started the 6th off with a 2-run blast from the 9-batter in Chris Mclean. This set the Express off with the top of their order due up and 0 outs in the inning, now only trailing by 1 run. Some walks and errors allowed Wells to secure some important baserunners before the heart of their lineup came to the plate. The interesting part was, this wasn't the normal heart of the lineup for the Express. James Camacho, has been featured heavily in the Wells lineup all season, but very rarely has been in the cleanup spot. Same for Express closer Cameron Hayman who has been in-and-out of the order for Wells. However, on this most important day of the Express' AMCC season, normal was not needed. Camacho and Hayman both recorded clutch singles in back-to-back at bats, keeping the train moving for the Express in the 6th. 

A couple batters later, Mark Maybee, another one of the Express substitutions from game 1, managed to put the finishing touches on a 6-run 6th inning with an RBI single to right field. Now with a 8-5 lead, it was up to the Express relievers to finish the job.

Noah Warriner, Zack Cronk, and the aforementioned Hayman managed to shut the door on the Redhawks, throwing a combined 3.1 innings while allowing 4 hits and only a single run. 

Warriner managed to secure the win and Hayman earned the save in an 8-6 Wells victory that kept their AMCC playoff hopes burning bright as they head to the final stretch of the season. 

Max Odum used his record-breaking RBI double in game 1 to get his bat warmed up for game 2 where he went 3-for-4 with an RBI. 

Chris Mclean and AJ Campi each homered in the 2nd matchup, and also each recorded 2 hits and 2 RBI. 

In addition to completing the Wells victory on the mound, Cameron Hayman also notched 3 hits in the win. 

The Express as a unit torched the La Roche pitchers in game 2, putting up a monstrous 16 hits. 

Wells will look to keep this momentum going into their Monday matchup against Alfred University. The Express will have a couple non-conference tune-ups this upcoming week before diving back into conference play come the weekend. 

GO EXPRESS!!

Remember to keep up with The Express on our social media pages!

Instagram: @WellsExpress 

X: @WellsExpress

Facebook: Wells College Athletics