Box Score After picking up 15 hits and playing near flawless defense in Sunday's doubleheader split with Northwestern Oklahoma State, the Pioneer fortunes took a turn for the worse on Monday afternoon in a 9-2 loss.
Through the first seven innings of the series finale, Wayland had more errors (6) than hits (2), and both the hits were infield singles.
The offense finally found a spark of life in the final two innings. Brian Allen and Josh Chinni had consecutive one-out singles in the eighth, but a ground ball double play eliminated the opportunity to push a run across the plate.
In the ninth, Oscar Rivera and Chris Buitron each reached base safely with a pair of singles. Courtesy runner Caden Whitley scored the first WBU run since the bottom of the second on Colton Palmer's two-out base knock to right, but a strikeout put an end to any hopes for more late-inning heroics.
Buitron, the Pioneers' freshman shortstop, had the only other RBI of the game.
Senior southpaw Kevin Burbank was saddled with the loss, his first of the season. Burbank went 6-2/3 innings, allowing seven runs – five earned – on ten hits. Freshman Paxton Bartley threw 1-1/3, giving up two unearned runs on two hits. Another freshman, Cooper Reinbold of Amarillo, finished with a perfect ninth.
NWOSU had 12 hits in the contest led by Sunday's game-one hero, Jarad Moore, who went 4-for-5. Jordan Flittie captured the win, pitching 4-2/3 innings in relief of starter Eddie Cumpston who left the game with an injury. Flittie limited WBU to two hits while striking out seven.
The Pioneers (10-15, 1-8) wrap up Spring Break with a three-game SAC series in Chickasha, Okla. against Science and Arts of Oklahoma on Friday and Saturday.
