PLAINVIEW, Texas — Texas Wesleyan University (21-18, 15-11) faced off against Wayland Baptist University (23-15, 13-13) in a thrilling doubleheader on Thursday, splitting the two games with a hard-fought 3–2 victory in the first game and a narrow 7–6 loss in the second.
In Game One, Texas Wesleyan edged past Wayland Baptist with a final score of 3–2. Wayland Baptist initially took the lead in the second inning when Brooke McLaurin singled, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on Yaneli Jaramillo's double, putting the home team ahead 1–0.
Texas Wesleyan responded in the fourth inning, sparked by
Payton Blanco's single and subsequent stolen base.
Hope Grant then hit a two-run homer, driving in Blanco and giving Texas Wesleyan a 2–1 lead. The fifth inning saw both teams adding to their scores;
Haylie Delarosa hit a single and advanced on a sacrifice by
Rachet Houston, while
Arieanna Hernandez followed with a double, driving in Delarosa. Wayland Baptist managed to score an unearned run, closing the gap to 3–2.
Kylie Barnes delivered a complete game performance for Texas Wesleyan, pitching all 7 innings and allowing 9 hits and 2 runs, only 1 of which was earned, while issuing a walk and striking out one. She threw 90 pitches, with 58 strikes, improving her season record to 14-6.
Hope Grant led the offense with two hits, including a home run and two RBIs, while Barnes allowed only one earned run.
Payton Blanco contributed with two hits, scored a run, and added a stolen base, while
Arieanna Hernandez recorded two hits, including a double, and tallied one RBI.
In Game two, Texas Wesleyan took an early lead in the first inning when
Haylie Delarosa tripled to right field and scored on
Rachet Houston's groundout to second base, concluding the inning with the Rams ahead, 1–0. However, Wayland Baptist responded in the second inning, scoring three runs led by Brooke McLaurin's single and a two-RBI single from Brianna Cloud, putting them ahead 3–1.
Wayland Baptist extended their lead in the fifth inning with a triple from Reagan Davis, who scored on Mikayla Carrillo's single. Additional hits brought in two more runs, closing the inning at 6–1 in favor of Wayland Baptist. The seventh inning proved pivotal for Texas Wesleyan as they mounted a comeback, starting with
EB Zimmerman's single.
Christina Jackson also singled, and after an error,
Kadynce Crenshaw's hit drove in a run. Delarosa's double brought in two more runs, followed by
Payton Blanco's two-RBI single. Despite the offensive surge, the game ended with Wayland Baptist holding a narrow lead, 7–6.
Reagan Avants pitched a complete game for Texas Wesleyan, going 6 1/3 innings, allowing seven earned runs on 11 hits while issuing two walks and striking out one. Avants showcased endurance on the mound with 118 pitches, 74 of which were strikes. Delarosa contributed significantly by scoring two runs and driving in two RBIs, including a double and a triple, while Blanco added two RBIs. Crenshaw also scored one run and contributed an RBI.
The Rams face the pioneers once again tomorrow in a doubleheader with games starting at 12pm.
