FORT WORTH, TX: The Texas Wesleyan University baseball team (14-13, 4-4 SAC) split at Sooner Athletic Conference doubleheader with the 24th ranked University of Science & Arts (OK) Drovers (21-6, 4-1 SAC) at Sycamore Park on Saturday. The Rams took game one 4-2, while the drovers won 9-8 in extra innings in game two.
In game one, the Drovers started the scoring in the top of the third. They put two aboard with one out after singles from Jayland Rodriguez and TJ Turner. With two outs, Chris Musick singled to center.
Alex Gudac's throw home was up the first base line, and Rodriguez slid just barely under a diving tag from
Garrett Crook.
The Rams got
Erick Quesada all the way to third base with one out in the fourth inning, but Jordan Watson retired the next two Texas Wesleyan hitters to escape with the 1-0 lead intact.
The Drovers added a two-out solo homer from Turner in the fifth. In the bottom of the frame,
Lorenzo Lynch beat out an infield single that scored Gudac from third and brought the margin back to a single run at 2-1.
Quesada led off the bottom of the sixth with a single. After a one-out walk to Crook, a balk put the go-ahead run into scoring position. With two outs,
Ryan Adam delivered a triple up against the wall in right-center. Gudac then knocked in Adam with a single, and the Rams led 4-2.
Zach Aitken (2-3) tossed a complete game, needing just 89 pitches to work all seven innings. He allowed two runs on five hits while striking out five. Watson (3-1) suffered his first loss of the season after allowing four runs on five hits and four walks. He struck out 11 in 5.2 innings.
In game two,
James Ziegler got the Rams started right with a three-run homer in the first inning.
Casey Moses made it 4-0 with an RBI single in the third.
Ricky Hull kept the Drovers off the scoreboard until the fifth inning when Nick Johnson blasted a three-run homer to left. Two Texas Wesleyan errors extended the inning, allowing the Drovers to send 10 men to the plate and score three more runs to lead 6-4.
In the sixth, Johnson made it 7-4 with his second homer in as many innings, this time a monster solo shot down the leftfield line.
The Rams were not going to go quietly. Gudac led off the bottom of the sixth with an infield single, and
Jonathan Bravo followed with a triple into left-center. The next batter,
Jake Davis, singled to center cutting the score to 7-6. Davis took second on an interference call and then advanced to third on a balk.
Mike Jeffcoat put the suicide squeeze on.
Ryan Adam could not get the bat on a tough curveball, but the ball got away just long enough for Davis to score the tying run.
Both teams were retired in order in the seventh, and the game rolled into extra innings.
In the eighth, the Drovers put runners at second and third with one out.
Mike Jeffcoat elected to intentionally walk Turner to load the bases and bring Johnson to the plate. The strategy appeared to work when
Wade Regas got a double-play grounder to short, but the throw to first sailed high allowing two runs to score.
With two outs in the bottom of the eighth,
Lorenzo Lynch was hit by a pitch. Adam then knocked in pinch-runner
Luke Zrostlik with a double to right-center.
Blake Seaton drew a walk, and a wild pitch put the winning run in scoring position. However, Cesar Figuereo was able to retire
Casey Moses for the final out to hold onto the win.
Regas took the tough luck loss after allowing two runs (one earned) on one hit in two innings. Figuereo (1-0) allowed a run on one hit while striking out six in three innings pitched.
Both teams recorded ten hits in the game. Adam (2-4), Moses (2-5), Ziegler (2-4), and Davis (2-4) each had a pair of hits for the Rams.
These two teams will complete their Sooner Athletic Conference series on Sunday. That game is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. first pitch at Sycamore Park.
Ramblings
- The Rams lead the all-time series with USAO 5-4.
- Texas Wesleyan is 31-26 all-time in Sooner Athletic Conference play.
- Triple the fun: two more triples on Saturday gives Texas Wesleyan 17 three-baggers on the season. That is tops in the NAIA along with Wayland Baptist and Georgia Gwinnett. The school record is 23 in a single season (set in 2005). Nine different Rams have recorded at least one triple this season.
Casey Moses and
Alex Gudac each have three. The school's individual single season record is 6 (Brandon Frazier, 2006 and Brock Huggins, 1998).
