Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Wayland Baptist outhit Central Christian College (Kan.) 8-4 in one game and was outhit by the same margin in the other, but the Pioneers won both in non-conference baseball Friday afternoon at Wilder Field.
The Pioneers (11-12), in their first action since falling out of the NAIA Top 25 and on the heels of dropping seven of their last nine games, picked up a pair of much-needed wins, 3-2 and 6-2, thanks in no small part to
Gregg Veneklasen's two home runs and the complete-game pitching performances of
Matt Flores and
Broedy Burris as Wayland prevailed over its future Sooner Athletic Conference opponent from Kansas.
In the opener, Flores (3-2), a junior, scattered eight hits while striking out six and walking just one, while in the nightcap freshman Burris (4-2) tossed a four-hitter while fanning seven and walking four.
In addition, Wayland played 14 innings of error-free baseball.
Veneklasen went deep in each game, both times to left field as the junior third baseman increased his team-leading homer total to eight.
It was a home run by
Alex Mumm, a two-out, two-run shot in the bottom of the fourth, that broke a scoreless tie in the first game.
The Tigers (7-16) managed to tie it back up in the sixth when they recorded four of their hits off Flores, including a two-out, two-RBI double by Kenny Cordova.
On the first pitch by CCC starter Reggie Thomas (3-2) in the bottom of the sixth, Veneklasen booked his first homer of the day that ultimately served as the game-winning hit.
Game two saw more offense by the Pioneers, including two hits by
Ernesto Lizardi, two RBIs apiece from Veneklasen and
Taylor Grady, and two three-run innings.
After catcher
Derek Farmer opened the third inning with a single, pinch runner Jose Ponce advanced on Grady's sacrifice bunt and a passed ball before scoring on
Hector Romero's fielder's choice. Veneklasen then struck again with his second homer of the day, also scoring Romero to give the Pioneers a 3-0 lead.
WBU doubled its lead in the sixth on four hits and two Tiger errors. A pinch-hit double by
Gaby De La Cruz followed by a pinch-hit single by
Paxton Covel provided the first run. Then, after
Dylan Norris singled, Grady delivered a two-RBI double down the line in left that pushed across a pair of unearned runs to make it 6-0.
Things got a bit dicey in the seventh when Central Christian made some noise thanks to a hit-batsman, a single, a passed ball, a walk and a couple of fielder's choice plays. But Burris hung tough and got the final outs to record the complete game.
Game 3 between the teams begins at 12 Saturday, which is Strike Out Cancer Day for the Pioneers as they will auction off their purple jerseys and other items in a fundraising effort for the American Cancer Society.
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