GRAND PRAIRE, TX: The Texas Wesleyan University baseball team (34-15) staged a two-out rally in the ninth to claim a 7-5 win against Arlington Baptist College at The Ballpark in Grand Prairie on Tuesday. In addition, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) released 7th edition of its Top-25 Coaches' Poll. Following a 2-1 week, the Rams slipped two spots to No. 22.
Both Texas Wesleyan and Arlington Baptist call The Ballpark home. Tuesday's meeting was the second of the season between the two program's and the Rams' turn to be the visitor on the scoreboard.
The Patriots led 5-3 entering the final inning behind eight solid innings from starter Josh Darden, who turned in a complete game in a losing effort against the Rams two weeks earlier.
With one out in the ninth,
Jake Davis, who entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh, ripped the first pitch he saw from Darden into leftfield for a double. With two outs,
Dusteyn Suttle singled up the middle to score Davis. A walk to
Blake Seaton put runners at first and second for
Casey Moses, and the junior from Las Vegas, put the Rams ahead with a double into the gap in left-center. The Patriots went to the bullpen, but
Alex Gudac followed with an RBI single to push the score to 7-5.
Arlington Baptist led the game from the start. The Patriots got an RBI single from Tyler Brown in the first inning. The Rams tied the game in the second when Gudac tripled and scored on an error, but Arlington Baptist plated two in the second and another in the third to extend their lead to 4-1.
The Rams got a sac fly from Moses in the fifth and an RBI double from Ziegler in the eighth to pull within a run, but the Patriots responded with a run in the bottom of the eighth.
The Rams outhit the Patriots 13-10. Seaton, Moses, Gudac, and
James Ziegler combined to go 10-for-18 in the middle of the Texas Wesleyan order. Ziegler, the reigning SAC Player, went 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles. Seaton, Moses, and Gudac each had a pair of hits.
Wade Regas (6-5) picked up the win with two innings of relief work. He allowed a run on two hits while striking out two.
The Rams are currently tied atop the Sooner Athletic Conference with Southwestern Christian University and the University of Science & Arts (OK) at 16-5 in league play. USAO jumped from 22nd to 17th. The Rams dropped to 22nd and SCU checked in at No. 25.
The Rams will return to action with a three-game SAC series against Southwestern Assemblies of God University this Weekend. Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled for a 1:00 pm start. Sunday's finale will be played at The Ballpark in Grand Prairie and will feature Senior Day festivities at 1:00 pm.
Ramblings
- Gudac's triple pushes the team's school record to 26 triples on the season. Gudac and
Ryan Adam each have six triples on the season matching the school's individual single-season record (held by Brandon Frazier in 2006 and Brock Huggins in 1998).
- The Rams are now 2-1 all-time against Arlington Baptist. They are 38-4 all-time against SAGU and 47-27 in SAC play.
- The Rams are 6-4 this season in games decided in the final inning.
