Box Score HENDERSON, TN - No. 14 Texas Wesleyan Baseball (44-15) had an opportunity late to tie or take the lead against No. 9 Freed-Hardeman (44-14), the host of the Henderson bracket in the NAIA's Opening Round of the postseason. But the Rams left the bases loaded in the eighth, left one on in the ninth and the Lions escaped with a 3-1 victory.
Texas Wesleyan will take on the bottom seed in the bracket - Clarke (28-22) out of Iowa - Tuesday at 11 a.m. in an elimination game. Like Freed-Hardeman, this will be the first-ever meeting between Clarke and the Rams.
To the top of the eighth, TXWES down 2-1 with two outs.
Caden Williams takes a walk before
Michael Davila brings more hope to the Rams. Davila's single into left field moved Williams over to second and now the meat of the lineup has a chance to deliver.
Tanner Amaral earned ball four to load the bases but
Sheadion Jamanika couldn't close, popping out to center.
TXWES earned seven hits, with Davila as the only multi-hitter, going 2-for-4. Williams helped the Rams get on the board. With two on after a Campero single and and a Jededdiah Fagg walk, Williams singled to center field to help bring home Campero. Each team walked six batters but in the end the Lions' stars showed up and did what they've done all season.
Collin Baber, the nation's leader in stolen bases, got one on the Rams in the bottom of the eighth, but the TXWES defense shut it down, turning a 6-2 double play off runners at second and third. The game featured five double plays - three achieved by Texas Wesleyan. In a tie game, Josh Sears happened. Sears, seventh in the NAIA in home runs, got his 20th of 2019 on
Jesse Ramirez to right field on a 3-1 count.
Ramirez only gave up two other hits in 5.1 innings of work with four strikeouts, before
Parker Robinson and
Houston Glad tried to keep momentum going in the later stages - and did. Freed-Hardeman won the game on just five hits, the least amount of hits that took down the Rams since the University of Dallas won a game with four hits March 3, 2018.
Texas Wesleyan vs. Clarke Preview
- Clarke has had an up-and-down season in the Heart of America Conference, where they finished 19-9. They finished 28-22 overall and have lost their last two, a feeling the Rams also share coming into this do-or-die matchup.
- The Pride swing for the fences - 34th in home runs per game - just shy of one per. On the flip side of that, Clarke has struck out 399 times in 2019 and while there's no statistic kept for team strikeouts through a season compared to the rest of the NAIA, for comparison that's 28 more sluggish walks back to the dugout than the Pride have given their opponents and Clarke is a respectable 41st in batters struck out this season.
- It will be the first time Clarke plays a team from Texas since it defeated Texas A&M-Texarkana on May 10, 2016. Despite the up and down season, it is the Pride's fourth trip to the national tournament, possessing a 4-7 record all-time. Clarke made the tournament this season despite starting 0-7 on the year.
- The Rams will likely see Jakob Kirman on the mound after the Pride held off pitching him Monday. Kirman is 8th in the NAIA in total innings pitched (96.2), 11th in wins (10) and 28th in walks allowed per nine innings (1.68). He's pitched over seven innings seven times, collecting a 6-0 record in those contests.
Live video is available here:
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/fhu/
