PLAINVIEW – Texas Wesleyan University (21-12, 7-7 SAC) fought hard but came up just short in back-to-back games against Wayland Baptist University (19-13, 10-4 SAC) falling 7-5 in the series opener on Friday afternoon and 5-4 in Game Two.
In the opener, the Rams took an early lead when Rody Garcia blasted a solo home run to right field in the first inning. However, Wayland responded quickly, scoring twice in the bottom half, highlighted by a solo homer from D. Claudio. The Pioneers added another run in the second to extend their lead to 3-1.
Texas Wesleyan surged ahead in the fourth inning, capitalizing on a defensive miscue to bring home a run before Gabriel Supelveda crushed a two-run homer, giving the Rams a 4-3 lead. The advantage was short-lived, as Wayland answered with four runs in the bottom half, including Claudio's second home run of the game, reclaiming a 7-4 lead.
Dylan Masanda helped the Rams inch closer in the fifth with an RBI groundout, but Wayland's bullpen held strong. Despite solid relief efforts from Jacob Guzman and Travis Belz, starter David Theriot (4-4) took the loss, allowing seven earned runs over 3.2 innings.
In Game Two, Texas Wesleyan struck early, with Brandon Rincones driving in Idelfonso Garcia in the first inning for a 1-0 lead. The Pioneers quickly responded with a three-run bottom half, fueled by a two-RBI triple from S. Pimentel.
The Rams battled back, scoring in the second on a Supelveda RBI single and again in the third when Ryan Flores drove in a run to tie the game at 3-3. Wayland regained the lead in the fourth with another RBI from Pimentel, but the Rams kept fighting, evening the score at 4-4 in the sixth when Ryan Kramer crossed the plate on a double play.
A Texas Wesleyan error in the bottom of the sixth allowed Wayland Baptist to score the go-ahead run, which proved to be the difference. Despite an eight-hit performance, including three from Flores, the Rams were unable to rally late.
Jorge Carvajal (3-2) took the loss, allowing five runs (four earned) over 5.1 innings while striking out nine. The Rams will look to rebound in the series finale against Wayland with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday.
