Box Score Video OKLAHOMA CITY –
Gregg Veneklasen recorded three hits and three RBI and scored twice, and seven different Pioneers pounded out 13 hits to help No. 24 Wayland Baptist to a crucial 8-6 win over host Oklahoma City University in the opening round of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament here Friday afternoon.
"That's huge," Wayland coach
Brad Bass said of the victory. "We're all obviously playing for a conference championship, but we're also playing for the first round of the national tournament , and winning the first game against a worthy opponent is huge."
The win, in which
Taylor Bridges came through with clutch pitching over the final five innings, sends Wayland (42-14) into a 2 p.m. game Saturday against No. 22 Texas Wesleyan (38-15), a 4-1 winner over Bacone.
"Tomorrow we face another top 25 team," Bass said of Wesleyan, where he coached before coming to Wayland 21 years ago. "Tomorrow is another big game. We have to pitch well and play good defense, and I believe we will. We'll have to because they do a lot of things. They play small ball and do a good job of executing lots of things."
Saturday's winner moves on to Sunday's 2 p.m. final of the double-elimination OCU bracket, while the loser turns around and plays at 6 p.m. in an elimination game against the winner of the OCU-Bacone game at 2 p.m.
"Whoever loses our game has to stay on the field, so you really want to win," Bass said.
The OCU bracket winner will face the winner of the Science and Arts of Oklahoma bracket on Monday with the tournament champion earning an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships Opening Round.
Wayland, aiming for just its second-ever trip to nationals, on Saturday will try to avenge its only series sweep of the season administered by Texas Wesleyan three weeks ago in Grand Prairie. Since then, the Pioneers have won 10 of their last 12 games, including six straight.
The latest was a thrilling win over OCU (37-18) on the Stars' home field, where two weeks earlier Wayland took two of three games to earn just their second series win in program history. Friday's win was more important since Wayland – should the Pioneers not earn the automatic bid to nationals by winning the conference tournament – will be vying for an at-large bid. Given that, every win counts…especially a win over OCU, a team ranked as high as No. 5 this season and which tied Wayland for third place in the regular-season.
The Pioneers proved their series win two weeks ago wasn't a fluke Friday, overcoming three errors with 13 hits as pitcher
Taylor Bridges was clutch in relief of starter
Paxton Bartley.
After OCU struck for four runs to take a 6-3 lead in the fifth, Wayland answered with five big ones in the bottom of the sixth.
Caleb Davidson opened with a bunt single before
Ernesto Lizardi got on board via an infield single.
Austin Davis walked to load the bases then
Will Bass drove in the first run on a fielder's choice with courtesy runner
Aaron Vallance also scoring on a throwing error by the OCU first baseman after the Stars couldn't turn the double play.
With two outs, senior designated hitter
Brayden Blackwell singled through the right side before Veneklasen followed suit, scoring Bass to tie it at 6-all.
Jake Doyle then delivered a double to right-center field that drove in Veneklasen and Blackwell with two more unearned runs and putting the Pioneers up 8-6.
Neither team scored after that, although OCU did manage three hits and three walks over the final three innings. But the Pioneers turned a 6-4-3 double-play to get out of the seventh-inning, Bridges struck out back-to-back batters to leave two runners stranded in the eighth, then, after back-to-back, two-out walks in the ninth that brought the winning run to the plate, Wayland recorded the final out on a ground-out to Veneklasen at third.
"The defense made some big plays at big times," Bass said.
Bridges (9-5) earned the win, giving up the final three (unearned) of OCU's four runs in the fifth but then blanking the Stars over the final four innings. He struck out seven, walked three and gave up five hits. Bartley went the first four innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits with three Ks and three walks.
"Paxton kept us in it long enough, then Taylor showed a lot of character when some things didn't go his way behind him," Bass said. "He hung in there and got the job done."
Wayland scored its first three runs on a two-run, two-out homer by Veneklasen – his team-leading 13
th of the season – in the third inning that followed an unearned run in the second when Doyle opened with a single then scored as a result of a throwing error by the OCU right-fielder.
Besides Veneklasen with three, other Pioneers with multiple hits were Blackwell, Doyle, Davidson and Lizardi, all with two each. Bass matched Veneklasen's two runs scored.
