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Box Score 2 WAXAHACHIE – In its first taste of Sooner Athletic Conference action, the Wayland Baptist baseball team handed Southwestern Assemblies of God University, a new member to the conference, two losses on Friday in Waxahachie. The Pioneers took game one, 10-3, before coming from behind in the night cap to take game two, 5-2.
Wayland (13-6) carried its recent offensive success to the Lions' den on Friday, erupting for three runs in the top of the first inning. The Pioneers' leading hitter,
Aaron Vallance, got WBU started with a single and was quickly brought home, courtesy of a
Mark Davis double. An error by the third basemen scored Davis, and a single from
Brayden Blackwell brought home
Josh Alexander, giving the Pioneers a 3-0 lead.
Southwestern (9-10) would hold off the Pioneer offense over the next three innings, but Wayland was able to break the game open in the fifth.
After two quick outs,
Tyler Doolittle,
Colton Palmer, Vallance, and Davis strung four hits together to give starting pitcher
Tom Bailey (3-1) all the support he would need.
The Lions answered with three runs of their own in the home half of the fifth, but the Pioneers tacked on four more runs over the last two innings and Bailey was dominant throughout the remainder of the game, guiding WBU to a 10-3 win. Bailey struck out eight, allowing just one walk, going the distance for Wayland.
The top of the Pioneer lineup got the offense started in game two with back to back singles from Palmer, WBU's leadoff man, and Vallance. Palmer singled to start the game off and then moved into scoring position after a wild pitch. Vallance then collected one of his four hits of the day, driving Palmer home to give Wayland an early 1-0 lead.
Starting pitcher
Mason Taylor (3-1) got himself into trouble in third, hitting a batter and walking another to give the Lions some life on the offensive end. With two outs, SAGU's Jared Denton singled to center, but Palmer misplayed the ball, allowing two runs to cross the plate. The Lion's cleanup hitter then drove a ball to deep center field, but Palmer was able to track it down, ending the inning, 2-1.
The Pioneers made sure they didn't trail for long, however, as Alexander blasted a home run over the center field fence, tying the game up, 2-2.
Taylor and the rest of the defense settled in for the remainder of the day, giving their offense a chance to regain the lead. The Pioneers did just that in the sixth inning as
Damion Lovato drove in Vallance with a two-out double, giving WBU a 3-2 lead.
Wayland added two more to its lead with a two-run double from Vallance in the seventh, and
Cachot Duncan closed out the game, inducing a game-ending, 6-4-3 double play to give the Pioneers a 5-2 win.
Vallance led the Pioneer offense with four hits, two runs and three RBIs, while Alexander (3) and Lovato (5) each went deep in Friday's doubleheader.
The Pioneers and Lions will conclude their three-game series at noon on Saturday.
