The Pioneers got two dominating pitching performances from their starters in a doubleheader sweep over Rogers State on Friday at Wilder Field. Junior Marcus Limon struck out 11 in 5-2/3 innings in a 9-6 game one victory, and senior Todd Weldon followed that up with 10 K's in a complete game 10-2 win. The sweep assures Wayland of its first conference series win of the season.
Limon, who improved his record to 3-1, gave up three runs on six hits and six walks in his longest outing of the season. WBU, which jumped out to a 9-1 lead, had 13 hits in the contest, lead by first baseman Kevin Hennessey who was 3-for-4 with a double, three RBI and three runs scored, and rightfielder Pedro Gomez, who went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Senior DH Johnathan Torres knocked in four runs with a three-run homer and a RBI groundout.
Hennessey made his first appearance on the mound this spring, coming in with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the seventh. The junior served up a softly hit ground ball to third that Brian Embery scooped up. The sophomore stepped on third for the force out, preserving the win for Limon and earning Hennessey his first save.
In the nightcap, Weldon got his fifth win of the season allowing just one earned run on six hits, two walks and a hit batsman. It was his best outing since throwing a four-hit shut against #10 Bellevue on Feb. 19.
The Pioneers belted out 16 hits in the second game. Embery had the only long ball, a two-run shot in the first. Gomez got two more hits, a double and a triple. Michael Prell and Jose Santiago both doubled, and sophomore catcher Oscar Rivera, who threw out two baserunners in the opener, went 3-for-3 with two RBI.
Wayland (14-8, 4-4) jumped out to an early 5-1 lead after scoring three in the first and two in the second. The Hillcats (14-4, 5-3) made it 5-2 with an unearned run in the top of the sixth, but the Pioneers responded with five unearned runs on five straight hits with two outs in the bottom half of the inning to give themselves some breathing room.
The two teams meet up at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon for the final game of the series. The game can be heard live on the internet or on KWLD 91.5 FM. Live Stats will also be available.
