Adams, Bridges solid again in pair of Pioneer wins

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 In what was almost a repeat of their performances from a week earlier, Wayland Baptist pitchers Tyler Adams and Taylor Bridges came up with a pair of impressive outings to lead the Pioneers to wins over Peru State (Neb.) on Friday afternoon at Wilder Field, 7-2 and 11-1.
 
Both Adams (3-0) and Bridges (3-1) went the distance in the seven-inning affairs, with Adams, a senior, allowing five hits while striking out eight and walking just one in the opener, and the junior lefty Bridges giving up seven hits with two strikeouts and two walks in game two.
 
It was the second complete game for Adams, who tossed a 2-0 shutout of University of the Southwest seven days earlier when Bridges also shined in a 9-1 romp.
 
The Pioneers (11-3) were in control most of the afternoon. Except when Peru State (0-2), in its season debut after a run to the NAIA National Opening Round last year, led 1-0 after the first two innings of game one, Wayland never trailed. A two-run homer by Gregg Veneklasen in the bottom of the third put the Pioneers ahead for the remainder of the opener.
 
Wayland added two runs to its side in each of the next two innings, featuring a pair of RBI-singles by Will Bass and a RBI-double by Ernesto Lizardi in the sixth. The Pioneers wound up with 10 hits.
 
Wayland got a dozen hits game two, four of those home runs. The first were solo shots by Aaron Vallance and Veneklasen on consecutive pitches in the third, then Alex Mumm followed suit in the fourth before Austin Davis smacked a three-run blast down the left-field line that just stayed fair in the fifth.
 
The Pioneers also got timely hits from Ethan Percell with a two-run single in the fifth, from Mumm with a two-run triple down the right-field line in the sixth, and from pinch-hitter Caleb Davidson with an RBI-single also in the sixth.
 
Vallance and Mumm were the standouts at the plate with Vallance going 4-for-5 on the day with four runs and Mumm finishing 4-for-6 with four runs and three RBI.
 
The Pioneers played error-free in the field, including a pair of smooth double-plays in the second game and a nifty behind-the-back flip from second baseman Bass to shortstop Vallance.
 
Wayland will look for two more wins over the Bobcats beginning at noon Saturday back at Wilder Field.