Pioneers make quick work of St. Greg's in series opener

Box Score Tyler Adams pitched a five-hitter and improved to 7-0 as Wayland Baptist rolled to a 12-2 win over the St. Gregory's Cavaliers in the opener of a Sooner Athletic Conference three-game series on Friday at Wilder Field.
 
The game – the first for Wayland (30-9, 7-3 SAC) since the Pioneers entered the NAIA Top 25 poll earlier this week – ended after 6½ innings on the 10-run mercy rule.
 
The teams will meet in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday back at Wilder.
 
Friday's contest was close until Wayland blew it open with a five-run fifth and a four-run sixth. Up until then, the Pioneers were clinging to a 3-2 lead.
 
WBU's offense erupted for those nine runs thanks to eight hits and five errors on the Cavaliers (18-19, 6-7).
 
Will Bass set the offense in motion with a lead-off double in the fifth. He quickly scored on Aaron Vallance's bunt single that included an SGU error. A single by Gregg Veneklasen scored Vallance, then another error allowed Ernesto Lizardi on base. Caleb Davidson responded with an RBI-single before Brayden Blackwell came up with a two-RBI double to left-center field that made it 8-2.
 
Bass led off again in the sixth and reached on yet another Cavaliers error. Vallance followed with a double to left before Veneklasen drove them both home with a single to left-center.
 
That spelled the end for SGU starter David Martinez (4-4), who gave up 11 runs (eight earned) on 11 hits with four strikeouts and a walk. On the second pitcher from reliever Scott Tali, Alex Mumm delivered a two-run homer to left field that put the Pioneers up 12-2.
 
The Cavaliers went three-up, three-down in the seventh to end it early.
 
Wayland plated its first two runs in the first on an RBI-double by Mumm and an error.  Blackwell broke a 2-2 tie with a two-out home run to left, his fourth of the year, in the bottom of the fourth.
 
Adams struck out four while walking two as he threw 110 pitches and kept his record perfect.
 
Vallance ended 3-for-3 while Veneklasen, Mumm and Blackwell all went 2-for-4 with three RBI.