FORT WORTH, TX: The 19th ranked Texas Wesleyan University Baseball team (26-7) took a 10-9 victory over No. 21 Texas A&M-Texarkana (26-9) at Sycamore Park on Tuesday.
The NAIA released its latest Coaches' Poll during Tuesday's game. Although the Rams are among the nation's hottest teams, extending their winning-streak to 13 games with Tuesday's win, they fell one position to No. 19. Fellow SAC members USAO and Oklahoma City checked in at No. 7 and No. 9 respectively.
The Rams batted around in the first inning and got a bases-clearing double from
Chandler Schoelkopf during a six-run frame to start the game.
The Eagles answered with three runs on three hits including a two-run double from Chase Beebe in the top of the second. Texarkana then made it a one-run game with two in the top of the fourth, but the Rams got a pair of two run home runs from
Kiki Menendez and
Jacob Barfield in the bottom of the inning to extend the lead to 10-5.
The Eagles loaded the bases in the fifth, but
Parker Robinson limited the damage to a single run when Menendez threw out Zach Boehler at the plate for the final out of the inning.
Texarkana tacked on single runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
In the seventh, the Eagles loaded the bases with no outs, but
Steven Frederick came on in relief and limited the damage to a single run with an inning-ending double play. The Eagles loaded them up again in the eighth, but
Stephen Yancey was able to escape with just one run across preserving a 10-9 lead.
In the ninth, Texarkana got the go-ahead run to second base with one out, but the Rams had an answer once again. This time
Brad Sugg slammed the door on his second save of the season.
Frederick (1-0), a sophomore from Trophy Club, TX, earned his first collegiate victory with a scoreless inning of work. Sugg lowered his season ERA to an SAC best 1.60 with a scoreless ninth inning.
Menendez went 2-for-3 with a double, home run and two RBI.
Kaden Brown (2-for-4) also had a pair of Texas Wesleyan's 10 hits.
The Rams will return to action with a three-game SAC series against Oklahoma Panhandle State University. That series has been rearranged to include one nine-inning game at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday and a doubleheader beginning at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Ramblings
- Tuesday's win extended Texas Wesleyan's winning streak to 13 games. The Rams are batting .391 as a team while outscoring their opponents 149-57 during the streak.
- The Rams lead the all-time series with A&M-Texarkana 2-1.
- Texas Wesleyan has never played Oklahoma Panhandle State University. The Rams are 75-33 all-time in SAC play.
