EDMOND, Okla. --- It took until almost the halfway point in the season to do it, but the Wayland Baptist baseball team finally lived up to preseason expectations after taking a doubleheader from the Oklahoma Christian University, 11-0 and 11-1. The Pioneers, who moved into third place in the conference standings following the three-game sweep, outscored the Eagles 36-5 during the series.
"That is the team that I thought I recruited," said Coach Brad Bass following his team's five-innning run-rule victory on Friday. "Up until this point, we hadn't been able to put it all together. The pitching staff has been a problem, and I think that affected how the whole team performed. Now, I think our hitters have confidence in the pitching, and our pitchers have confidence in the defense behinid them."
Bass used only three pitchers during the series against the Eagles. Trevor Stringer got things started with a complete-game victory on Thursday, and Marcus Limon and Todd Weldon followed with impressive performances on Friday. Limon threw a two-hit shutout in the opener, while Weldon allowed just one run on two hits and struck out nine in the nightcap.
The first game of the twinbill was scoreless until the top of the fourth when the Pioneers got two unearned runs on a lead-off walk to Josh Lucas, two sacrifice bunts by Scott Keane and Eddie Allen, a throwing error, and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Pedro Gomez. Lucas put two more runs on the board in the fifth with a two-out homer down the left field line.
Four more WBU runs crossed the plate in the sixth, highlighted by Brian Embery's three-run shot over the centerfield wall. Embery picked up two more RBI in the seventh on a hit that careened off the wall in center.
Gomez was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Michael Prell had two hits and knocked in the other Pioneer run.
The Pioneers, who had 13 hits in the first game, duplicated the mark in the second. Allen opened it up with a lead-off single, Prell doubled, and Gomez hit his second sac fly of the afternoon. After a walk to Kevin Hennessey, Embery put another hole in the centerfield wall.
Lucas hit his second home run of the day in the second, and Hennessey singled in another run to give Weldon a 5-0 lead after one-and-half-innings of play.
The Eagles picked up their only two hits and their only two base runners in the bottom half of the inning on a solo home run and a hit up the middle. Weldon retired the side in order in the other four innings of play.
Wayland made it 8-1 in the third with three straight singles, a walk, a passed ball, and a ground out.
Embery hit his ninth home run of the season with a lead-off shot in the fourth. Back-to-back doubles by Keane and Allen completed the Pioneer scoring.
Allen was 3-for-3 in the finale with two runs scored and two RBI. Lucas went 2-for-2 with two RBI and three runs scored, while Embery was 2-for-3 with three runs batted in.
The Pioneers (18-9, 8-4) look to maintain their momentum with a doubleheader on Tuesday in Hobbs, NM against the University of the Southwest. They return to SAC play on Friday with a three-game home series against Oklahoma Baptist University.
