FORT WORTH, TX - It was a complete day of baseball Friday at Sycamore Park as No. 17 Texas Wesleyan (7-2) and the Bethany Swedes (4-6) played a pair of shootouts - 9-8 and 12-8 - both won by the Rams in a six-hour span. The two teams will get together again Saturday with another doubleheader at noon.
Four times last season TXWES won games in which its opponent scored at least eight runs. In Game 1, the Rams had a 7-2 advantage and held on. In Game 2, Texas Wesleyan erupted for five runs in the sixth to erase an 8-7 deficit to collect another 'W'. After sweeping a three-game series against Bethany in 2018 and a doubleheader against the Swedes in 2017, the Rams have now won seven in a row over Bethany.
HOME RUNS
There was plenty of out-of-the-park chase-downs for baseballs Friday, as the two teams combined to go long five times, four of which belonged to the home squad.
Tanner Amaral put one out in left centerfield in Game 1 that gave TXWES its largest lead in either game, 9-2.
Trey Smith clanked one off the foul pole fair down the left-field line, scoring Amaral and Kevin Santiago and then on the next at-bat,
Josh Davis knocked a solo shot out of the park.
Michael Higgins brought in three of those five runs in Game 2's sixth frame with a homer so tall in the sky, it flew over the bare trees in left centerfield, likely scaring off a few birds on its way down.
TOP PERFORMERS
Trey Smith - 3-for-6, 5 RBI (HR, sacrifice fly)
Tanner Amaral - 5-for-6, 3 RBI (HR)
Michael Higgins - 3-for-4, 3 RBI (HR, double)
Marcos Sanchez - 3-for-8, 3 RBI (double)
Dominick Padilla stole two of the team's five Friday, his first two stolen bases of the season. He caught the Swedes napping in Game 1 in a rare steal from second to third base against the right-handed pitcher Taylor Grider.
PITCHING
Gabriel Sequeria improved to 2-0 with eight strikeouts in the first game against 20 batters.
Cameron Calhoun collected his second save with the final strikeout in the top of the seventh. In Game 2,
Josh Brown pitched 3.2 innings to also improve his record to 2-0, with three strikeouts allowing only one hit.
FRIDAY SUMMARY
The Rams got a combined 24 hits out of their offense and won both games despite six total errors and giving up 19 hits off the mound.
Joaquin Ballesteros, while he didn't have a signature crack at the ball to start the series, went 3-of-6, improving his batting average to .424 this season, best on the team.
