FORT WORTH, Texas – The No. 17 Texas Wesleyan University baseball team (11-5) picked up a pair of wins over No. 7 Bellevue University (Neb.) (3-4). The Rams dominated game one 6-1 before running away with game two, 4-2.
In game one, the Rams were dominant with
Gabriel Sequeira on the mound.
While Sequeira was ripping through the Bellevue lineup in one of the most brilliant pitching performances seen at Sycamore park in recent history, the Rams dropped a five spot in the third inning to establish a healthy 5-1 lead. Kevin Santiago started the rally with a RBI base hit on a favorable hop over a diving shortstop. TXWES loaded the bases and
Marcos Sanchez worked a RBI walk before
Dominick Padilla plated another on a base hit bunt.
Troy Carrigan worked another RBI walk, while another pair scored on Bruin mishaps.
On the other side, Sequeira sat down six in-a-row to start the game and his arsenal was relentless
That big inning, paired with the dominance displayed by Sequeira, paced the Rams the rest of the way. TXWES added an insurance run in the sixth. After an error allowed
Kaden Brown to reach, he worked his way around the base paths and scored on a
Joaquin Ballesteros RBI groundout on the way to the 6-1 win.
Sequeira improved to 3-0 on the young season. The junior from Habana, Cuba logged his second complete game win of 2020. He allowed just one run on a pair of hits, walked one and struck out a whopping 16 batters.
The 16 strikeouts by Sequeira is the most times a Bellevue team has struck out in a single game since at least 2004 (DakStats era), when verifiable game-by-game statistics were established. The Texas Wesleyan program record for strikeouts in a single game is 19, set by Gary Young in 1972. However, records do not distinguish between 7 inning and 9 inning contests. There is no denying that 16 strikeouts in seven innings is an impressive feat.
Game two was a tightly contested game, with the Rams playing more efficient than Bellevue. Each team posted runs in the first inning. The Bruins got a home run from Andrew Ishii, while the Rams plated one on a RBI groundout from
Tanner Amaral.
TXWES would break the tie in the fourth.
Michael Higgins launched a ball to deep center on the way to a triple before
Marcos Sanchez got the runner home on a single through the left side for a 2-1 edge.
Amaral added a couple of insurance runs in the fifth, mashing a ball over the left field wall to make it a 4-1 game.
Despite the Buins mounting the makings of a rally in the final frame, the Rams limited the damage to one run, taking the 4-2 win.
Jesse Ramirez (3-0) was solid in the win. The senior computer science major limited the Bruins to two runs on six hits, had no walks and struck out an even 10.
Cameron Calhoun picked up the save, his third of the season.
The team will stay home and face Blue Mountain College (Miss.) on Friday, Feb. 21. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Sycamore Park.
