Box Score A game that featured all kinds of twists and turns and unusual plays wound up not working out so well for Wayland Baptist as the Pioneers fell to Mid-America Christian University on Saturday afternoon at Wilder Field, 9-7.
Wayland fought its way back from a four-run, first-inning disaster and took a 7-6 lead only to endure another meltdown in the seventh when the Evangels scored three unearned runs that sent them back to Oklahoma City celebrating a Sooner Athletic Conference win. The Evangels took the series after winning the second game of Friday's doubleheader, 5-4. Wayland won the opener, 3-2.
On Saturday, MACU (19-27, 10-11 SAC) won despite suffering seven wild pitches, three errors and two passed balls. The Evangels overcame those mistakes mostly because Wayland (19-25, 7-14) committed four miscues that led to six unearned runs.
MACU's four-run first saw the Evangels get three hits – including a two-run double – but also benefit from a hit-batsman to open the game and later the first of Wayland's blunders on a short toss from second base.
The Pioneers got a run back in the bottom of the first when
Will Bass singled and made his way around the bases on two wild pitches and a passed ball.
???????MACU added two runs in the third on the heels of a pair of WBU errors followed by a two-run, two-out single.
???????Wayland got right back in it thanks to a four-run fourth that featured hits by
Paxton Covel,
Austin Davis and
Taylor Grady, two Evangel errors, and a pair of wild pitches.
The Pioneers added a run in each of their next two at-bats, first in the fifth on a broken-bat, RBI-infield single by
Caleb Davidson that came after another passed ball, a catcher's interference call and a balk. That tied it at 6-all, then in the sixth Bass came through with a solo home run to right field that put Wayland up by one.
???????MACU didn't blink, however.
In their next at-bat, the Evangels recorded three runs on three hits – including a shot off the foot of Wayland freshman pitcher
Broedy Burris – plus a costly throwing error on
Tristen Hefner on his first batter after replacing Burris (5-5).
???????Wayland kept the deficit at two despite MACU getting its first two batters in the eighth on base. A third Pioneer freshman pitcher,
Collin Isbell, came on and helped strand three runners.
But Wayland couldn't muster any more offense, going three-up, three-down in both the eighth and ninth.
The Pioneers will be back at Wilder Field at noon Tuesday in a single, non-conference contest against New Mexico Highlands prior to ending the regular-season with a three-game home series against last-place Bacone (5-41, 1-20).
???????Wayland is currently in seventh place in the SAC standings, three games behind MACU and a half-game up on Southwestern Assemblies of God (15-31, 6-14), which was finishing up a weekend series against No. 13 Texas Wesleyan, which won the first two. SAGU then wraps up the regular-season with three games at top-ranked Oklahoma City (40-7, 17-2).
The conference tournament is May 5-8, co-hosted by Oklahoma City and Science & Arts of Oklahoma.
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