OKLAHOMA CITY - With two wins and three home runs on Friday, Texas Wesleyan Baseball (33-8, 13-4 SAC) surged to within a half game behind first place in the Sooner Athletic Conference, knocking off Mid-America Christian (10-19, 5-11 SAC) 3-1 in Game 1 and 11-4 in Game 2.

Parker Robinson got his fifth win of the season as he closed the door on the Evangels in Game 1 with two strikeouts against the last four batters. MACU held a 1-0 lead before the Rams found their way late again. Tied in the top of the seventh thanks to Jeddediah Fagg's single to right field in the fourth (scoring an unearned run on a fielding error out yonder) Brayden Bahnsen was Friday's hero driving a single to center field to bring home Tanner Amaral (had reached on a walk) and Joseph Barfield (had reached on a single through the left side).  

In the sixth inning, Barfield moved to second base, a move that proved to be a beneficial one. Barfield stopped two would-be hits in the bottom of the seventh from escaping into the outfield, cleaning up for the 'W'. The first hit with him playing second also went his direction, catching the pop-up for the first out in the sixth.

The Rams got the victory despite leaving seven on base, including the lonely Michael Davila who was left stranded three different times. Caden Williams hit 2-for-3 with a double and overall the top of the lineup - which included Alan Campero, Bahnsen and Williams - hit on a combined 4-of-10 swinging opportunities. Cameron Vige pitched the first 5 2/3 innings on the mound, striking out four and giving up only four hits.

BATS COME ALIVE, BUILD A BIG LEAD
In Game 2, Texas Wesleyan left no doubt who the superior hitting team would be on this day. Four runs crossed home plate in the first before MACU even collected their second out, due in large part to Bahnsen's stellar bunt, Davila's double to right center, Sheadion Jamanika's single to center and a couple of miscues by MACU - a wild pitch and passed ball that helped advance runners into better scoring position.

That lead helped Houston Glad to a comfortable cushion before he ever took the mound. Glad struck out nine and pitched the full seven, walking just three and hitting zero Evangels. Glad improved to 7-2 on the season, his first with the Rams since transferring in from Creighton. 

Then the home run madness began. In the third, Jamanika rocketed a ball out to left-center and gone to give Texas Wesleyan a 5-2 advantage. In the fourth, Campero said anything you can do, I can do better by drilling a ball to right center for a 6-2 lead. Not to be outdone, Fagg stepped in the box in the top of the seventh and crushed a home run to left center for an 8-4 lead, breaking MACU's hope. The Evangels surrendered the game's final three runs after that. It was the third home run of the season for all three.

WHAT'S NEXT
The Rams wrap up their three-game stretch with MACU Saturday, weather permitting. Softball postponed their two games with MACU tomorrow due to possible storms in the area. If TXWES gets the win, it will be the first sweep of the Evangels since 2014, when the third game of that series was postponed in Oklahoma due to weather and rescheduled for nine days later.