Pioneers pick up two wins in conference home opener

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2  On Friday of Wayland Baptist's recruitment-centered Big Weekend, the Pioneer baseball team gave fans and prospective students something to cheer about, sweeping Sooner Athletic Conference foe Mid-America Christian, 6-4 and 11-4, in a doubleheader at Wilder Field.

Wayland (10-18, 2-3 SAC) entered the day winless in conference play, but sent ace Tom Bailey to the mound in game one. Bailey pitched well in his first conference start of the season against a solid-hitting USAO team two weeks ago, but fell to the Drovers 1-0. The junior from Perth, Australia, threw another gem in his second SAC start, this time getting different results against MACU (2-21, 0-6).

Bailey pitched six strong innings, but after three errors in the top of the seventh and a pitch count over 100, freshman Logan Evans was brought in to record the final out of the game. The MACU hitters could not get a bead on Bailey, as he got 11 Evangels to ground out while striking out six.

The Pioneer sticks showed up in game one as well, scoring six runs on eight hits. After some faulty MACU defense allowed Gregg Veneklasen and Bernie Rosario to score in the first, Josh Chinni hit his fourth home run of the season in the third inning to give WBU a 3-0 lead.

Wayland added three more runs in the bottom of the fourth on a pair of doubles by Veneklasen and Chinni. WBU would not score again in game one, but went on to win, 6-4.

The Pioneers kept up their momentum in the night cap and did not let up on the visiting Evangels.

Chinni drove in the first run of the game with a single through the left side of the infield, then Chris Buitron, the team's batting average leader, recorded one of his three hits on the day to give Wayland a 2-0 lead after one complete.

Mid-America threatened in the top of the third, but after a pair of web gems by Veneklasen and Rosario, the Pioneers picked up the bats and scored another run courtesy of a two-out single by Steven Polito.

The Evangels got on the board in the fourth after starting pitcher Jose Urena walked the leadoff batter and hit the second. After a bunt single loaded the bases, MACU elected to do the same thing, but this time an errant throw by Brian Allen allowed two runners to score before Polito gunned down a third would-be run at the plate. After a sacrifice fly, the Evangels tied the game up at three apiece.

The Wayland offense answered in a big way, however, as the Pioneers came up with two runs in the fourth, two in the fifth and four in the sixth.

MACU scored a run in the fifth and threatened again in the sixth with two runners on and nobody out. With the tying run at the plate, Tyler Doolittle was brought in to put out the surging Evangels, but with the help of two nice defensive plays by Allen at first base, MACU was held at bay.

Doolittle started off the top of the seventh with two strikeouts before getting the final batter to hit a soft liner to second to end the game, picking up his first save of the season by preserving the 11-4 win.

The Pioneers will finish up the series with MACU at 1 p.m. Saturday in a doubleheader at Wilder Field. Saturday will be “Strike Out Cancer” day at the ballpark and the team will auction off purple jerseys featuring each player's name, number and commemorative ribbon to raise funds for Wayland's Relay for Life team. Anyone unable to attend the game but wantingto bid on a jersey may contact Relay for Life team captain Gary Zacher at 806-445-4188.