PLAINVIEW, TX: The 15th ranked Texas Wesleyan University baseball team (25-9, 8-3 SAC) split a Sooner Athletic Conference doubleheader at Wayland Baptist University (16-18, 4-7 SAC) on Friday. The Rams took the opening salvo 6-2 before the Pioneers rallied for a 7-5 win in game two.
The Rams struck first in game one. An RBI single from
Kiki Menendez in the second inning started the scoring. Later in the same inning,
Casey Moses drew a bases-loaded walk to give the Rams a 2-0 lead.
Wayland Baptist came right back in the third, scoring two runs with singles from Will Bass, Hector Romero, and Gregg Veneklasen.
Texas Wesleyan regained the lead when they scored two runs with singles from
Alex Gudac,
Garrett Crook, and
Blake Seaton in the fourth. The Rams tacked on two insurance runs in the top of the seventh with an RBI double from
Caden Williams and an RBI groundout from
Aidan Laurini.
Alex Lopez (6-1) needed no relief while posting his fifth complete game in seven starts this season. The senior from Ovilla, TX, worked all seven innings and allowed two runs on six hits while striking out a pair. Matt Flores (3-5) allowed five runs on 11 hits in 6.1 innings in the loss.
Eight Rams recorded a hit in Texas Wesleyan's 13-hit attack.
Blake Seaton,
Luis Roman,
Julio Ibarra,
Caden Williams, and
Aidan Laurini had two hits apiece.
Game two got started on the wrong foot when Bass reached on a leadoff error and then scored on a double from Romero. Romero later scored on a sac fly to give WBU a quick 2-0 lead.
Kiki Menendez cut the margin in half with an RBI double in the fourth, but the Pioneers made it 3-1 with an RBI single from Veneklasen in the fifth.
Roman and Ibarra led off the sixth with back-to-back singles and later scored to tie the game at 3-3.
Wayland put the game away in the sixth when they plated four runs on four hits and two walks.
The Rams didn't go quietly in the seventh. After Seaton drew a two-out walk, Roman blasted a two-run home run, but the Rams were unable to complete the comeback and fell 7-5.
Stephen Yancey (5-3) took the loss after surrendering seven runs, six earned, on ten hits in 5.2 innings. Kevin Torres (4-1) earned the win after allowing two runs on one hit in 1.1 innings of relief work.
Roman was 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in the loss. Menendez was 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles.
Veneklassen combined to go 5-for-6 on the day for Wayland Baptist.
The Rams and Pionneers will complete their three-game series on Saturday. Game time is set for 12:00 p.m.
Ramblings
- The Rams lead the all-time series with Wayland Baptist 13-9. They are now 54-31 all-time in SAC play.
- Four Rams have had hitting streaks reach double-figures this season, led by
Alex Gudac's 18-game stretch.
Luis Roman holds the longest active streak on the team at seven games.
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Alex Lopez is 6-1 on the season with a 2.73 ERA. He has made 10 appearances and completed five of the seven games he started.
