OKLAHOMA CITY - Up north of the border nearly a week, No. 14 Texas Wesleyan Baseball (44-14) is finally coming home after a valiant effort against No. 8 Oklahoma City, defeating the Stars in the first semifinal meeting 8-1, before falling 11-5 in the if necessary elimination game.
No. 7 University of Science and Arts-Oklahoma finished the tournament unbeaten, while the Stars only loss was to the Rams. Those two teams get an automatic qualifying spot to the NAIA National Tournament, with the Opening Round to be played May 13-16 on campus sites before the NAIA World Series shifts to Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho May 24-31. The closest campus site to TXWES will be in Shreveport, LA on the campus of LSU-Shreveport.
Texas Wesleyan's season isn't over. The Rams will await their fate, hoping for an at-large invitation when the NAIA announces the Opening Round bracket on the PlayNAIA Facebook Page
here, May 9 at 4 p.m. The 45-team Opening Round event is scheduled for May 13-16 and features nine, five-team double elimination tournaments. The Opening Round site selection process takes into account geography, facilities, student-athlete experience and host qualification, according to the governing body. In the event that a selected bid is tied directly to an institution, that school is guaranteed at least an at-large host berth. The nine opening round champions and World Series host Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) will make up the World Series' bracket.
The Rams wasted no time coming out swinging against the OCU on Tuesday. With its back against the wall, Texas Wesleyan hammered home two, two run homers over the left-field fence - by the same player. Mr.
Tanner Amaral has the Stars' number. Not only did Amaral drive in four of the Rams' eight runs in the matinee, but he also cracked two home runs over the fence in a game against the Stars earlier this season, back on March 30 in a 14-10 triumph. He was one off
Kiki Menendez' new record for home runs in a game - three - set last season against Bacone.
Jeddediah Fagg got involved in the ninth inning, knocking one over the wall in over that same left-field fencing. That helped put the game out of reach and
Houston Glad closed things out going three up, three down in the bottom of the ninth, officially forcing a winner-take-automatic bid immediately following, after the conference elected not to continue on with the double elimination bracket for the championship. The next game would clinch a spot in the postseason for one.
Everything started off right, including more balls going yard.
Josh Davis in the bottom of the second (the Rams serving as the home team despite playing on Oklahoma City's field) became the third different Ram to hit a 2 RBI homer Tuesday - his first HR of the season. Davis is now the 13th player to hit a home run in 2019, the most since 15 different players went yard in 2009.
The game didn't go as well after the Rams took a 3-0 lead into the third frame. Oklahoma City found their offense, hitting two homers of their own to pull away. Despite trailing, 11-3,
Craig Mattes wasn't bothered. The left field looked good to him too, rocketing another ball over the fence for Texas Wesleyan's ninth home run of the tournament, which led all teams.
TOP HITTERS & PITCHERS
Oklahoma City made things difficult in the second contest, striking out 11 batters. In the two games combined,
Michael Davila,
Joseph Barfield,
Sheadion Jamanika, Davis, Fagg and Amaral all finished with a pair of hits.
Jesse Ramirez had one of his better games of the season on the mound, striking out seven in seven innings of work in the victory over OCU.
Houston Glad relieved, then started the second game. Glad took that loss, with five pitchers coming in behind him unable to find the stuff against an all-of-a-sudden hot-hitting Stars squad.
REMEMBER WILLIAMS?
Oklahoma City's Tyler Williams hit four home runs against Mid-America Christian Monday night and five in the tournament but that didn't phase the Rams' pitching staff. Williams went 1-for-7 against TXWES in the two battles.
