Solid pitching by Adams, Bridges leads Pioneers to wins

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Tyler Adams and Taylor Bridges turned in a pair of solid pitching performances to lead Wayland Baptist to a sweep of University of the Southwest (N.M.) on Friday afternoon at Wilder Field, 2-0 and 9-1.
 
The Pioneers (7-3), ranked the equivalent of 40^th in the NAIA, had only two hits in the first game but 12 in the second as Wayland improved its home record to 4-0 this season. The Mustangs (2-4) will host Wayland in another doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. (CST) Sunday in Hobbs.
 
Wayland almost finished off the day without giving up a run, but USW managed to avoid the double-shutout with an unearned run in the top of the eighth inning of the second game. The Pioneers turned an unusual 3-6-1 double-play to get out of the inning.
 
Will Bass ended the day with four hits, including three doubles, while Gregg Veneklasen had three hits, including a triple and a double, in game two to go along with three RBI and three runs. Bass and Veneklasen combined for six hits in the second game with six other Pioneers accounting for one hit apiece.
 
Bass had half of Wayland's two hits in the opener, that on a double down the right-field line to open Wayland's first at-bat. Aaron Vallance's sacrifice bunt got Bass to third, then Veneklasen drove him home with a sacrifice fly to center.
 
Wayland's other run came in the third after Austin Davis tripled to center field. He scored when Bass grounded out to first.
 
That was enough for Adams (2-0), who gave up just four hits in going the entire seven innings. He struck out six and walked two in Wayland's second shutout of the season.
 
Bridges (2-1) was just as impressive in the second game, also giving up just four hits in seven innings while fanning five and walking only one as the lefty retired the first 11 Mustangs he faced. Jonathan Frost and Paxton Bartley each pitched an inning in relief.
 
The Pioneers scored their first run much the same way they did in the first game. After Bass led off with a double, Vallance got him to third on a bunt single before Veneklasen's single through the left-side of the infield made it 1-0. Jake Doyle added an RBI-sacrifice fly and Alex Mumm an RBI-groundout to give WBU a 3-0 lead after one.
 
Wayland added two runs to its total in the third and fifth innings and pushed across one in each of the seventh and eighth frames.
 
Wayland has now its last seven straight games against USW.