Oklahoma City — Texas Wesleyan University (25-16, 9-10 SAC) dropped both games of Saturday's doubleheader to Mid-America Christian University (29-11, 15-5 SAC) falling 4-2 in a tightly contested opener before surrendering an 11-8 decision in Game Two.
In Game One, both teams tallied seven hits, but a decisive three-run fifth inning gave the Evangels the edge. Mid-America Christian struck first with a sacrifice fly in the opening frame. The Rams responded in the third when Rody Garcia laced an RBI triple to the right-center gap, scoring Brandon Rincones to even the score at 1-1.
Texas Wesleyan briefly took the lead in the fifth on a throwing error that allowed Rincones to reach third and Idelfonso Garcia to cross the plate. However, the Evangels answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning, using two hits and a fielder's choice to reclaim control.
Despite the loss, starter Samuel Mendez (3-1) turned in a solid performance, striking out six in six innings of work. Fabian Hernandez (5-1) earned the complete-game win for MACU, allowing just one earned run while striking out five.
In the nightcap, the Rams came out swinging, plating five runs in the first inning, including a grand slam to right field by Brendon Vela. Texas Wesleyan extended the lead to 8-5 in the third behind RBI singles from Dylan Masanda and Conner De Leon, along with a wild pitch that scored Tim Escamilla.
Mid-America Christian answered again in the fifth, erupting for six unearned runs to flip the game. The key blow came off the bat of Cristopher Munoz, who launched a three-run homer to left field. Defensive miscues haunted the Rams, who committed three errors in the game.
Texas Wesleyan used three pitchers in the contest, with Travis Belz (2-3) taking the loss after surrendering three unearned runs in 1.2 innings. Starter Jorge Carvajal struck out five but walked four in 2.2 innings of work.
Offensively, the Rams totaled nine hits, with Vela going 2-for-4 with four RBIs. Idelfonso Garcia added a pair of hits to lead the way.
The Rams will play one more game against MACU on the road on Monday, before returning home over the weekend to play Southwestern Christian University.
