Box Score

SHREVEPORT, LA:  The Texas Wesleyan University baseball team (33-20) suffered a narrow 7-6 loss to UT-Brownsville (29-24) in first-round action at the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament on Saturday.
 
The Rams cracked the scoreboard first. Alex Padilla and Joel Horton led off the second inning with consecutive singles.  After Taylor Jockers sacrificed the two to second and third, Brian White delivered a two-out two-run single to left.
 
UTB answered with a three-run homer from Colby Henscey with two down in the third inning and an unearned tally in the fourth.
 
An RBI single from Joseph Lassiter brought TWU within a run in the bottom of the fourth.  After the Scorpions added an RBI single from Scott Frazier in the top of the sixth, the Rams tied the game at 5-5 with an RBI triple from Jockers and an RBI double from Lassiter in the bottom of the frame.
 
Brownsville came right back in the seventh, loading the bases with two outs.  Joel Fernandez then reached on an infield single and a TWU error allowed a second runner to score, pushing the score to 7-5.
 
Justin Barnes led off the bottom of the eighth with his seventh home run of the season to bring the Rams within a run at 7-6.  Texas Wesleyan got a base hit from White in the ninth, but could not find the equalizer.

Zach Armstrong (6-3) earned the win after allowing six runs on nine hits in 7.1 innings of work.  Kyle Wierenga notched his third save with 1.2 scoreless relief.  Nolan Barbee (7-3) took the loss after allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits in 2.1 innings of work.

Padilla, Lassiter, and White all went 2-for-4 at the plate for Texas Wesleyan.
 
The Rams will move on to the elimination bracket on Sunday.  They will face the number one team in the nation and tournament host, LSU-Shreveport, at 3:00 p.m.  The Pilots advanced with a victory over the University of the Southwest on Friday.