FORT WORTH, Texas – The 17th ranked Texas Wesleyan baseball team (15-8, 2-1 SAC) split the day, but won the series with (RV) Southwestern Christian (12-7, 1-2 SAC) Sycamore Park on Friday afternoon. The Rams shutout the Eagles 6-0 in game one before dropping the finale 9-7.
With a strong Southerly wind gusting upward of 20 mph straight across the baseball diamond from left to right, fly balls were reduced to a minimum.
Gabriel Sequeira (4-0) dismantled the SCU lineup in game one, collecting 14 strikeouts on the way to his fourth consecutive win on the mound. The junior from Cypress, Texas logged his second complete game and first complete game shutout of 2020.
"Gabe [Sequeira] has been great for us since he stepped on campus," commented head coach
Bobby Garza. "He brings more to the team than just throwing the baseball. He's a professional in how we handle day-to-day operations. He gives us a chance to win every time he's on the mound."
In game one, Santiago and Sanchez teamed up to produce three runs in the second inning to take a modest lead, and with Sequeira on the mound the Ram bats had the upper hand. The team would go on to add five insurance runs in the 6-0 win.
Amaral and Sanchez each went 2 for 3 with two RBI in the win. Santiago went 2 for 3 with one RBI.
In game two, the two teams scored a run in every half inning in the first four innings. The three lead changes ended in favor of SCU. The Rams out hit their opponent 14-12, but had the bases full in two separate innings and couldn't produce. The home team left a total of 11 stranded.
"We didn't play well in game two, but the players kept us it," said Garza. "That's all we can ask for; an opportunity to be in ball games. We just fell a litte short."
The Eagles jumped to a 4-2 lead through three frames before the Rams struck for four in bottom of the third. Santiago and Sanchez each rocketed two-run doubles into the right side of the ball park to take a 6-4 lead.
In the third, SCU's Erasmo Mavarez found the gap down the right field line to score one, but in the ambitious Mavarez' attempt to take third on the play was denied by the Texas Wesleyan defense. That ended the inning and preserved the lead.
Micheal Higgins added a run in the fourth on a line drive home run to the opposite field that hit the right field foul pole. That made it a 7-4 ball game in favor of TXWES.
The Eagles regained the lead in the fifth with a four-run rally and would hold the Rams scoreless in the final three for the win.
It was the consistent
Joaquin Ballesteros who led the Rams with three hits. He leads the team hitting .419, good for seventh best in the conference. He has 10 games multi-hit games and have hit safely in four straight games.
Higgins, Sanchez, and Santiago were the producers in game two, logging at least a hit and a pair of RBI each.
The Rams will take on Texas A&M – Texarkana on Monday in a single nine inning game starting at 2 pm at Sycamore Park.
