One was a come-from-behind effort and the other a hold-onto-what-you've-got affair, but both – thanks to some pitching heroics by
Chase Jones – resulted in wins for the Wayland Baptist baseball team Saturday afternoon at Wilder Field.
Facing NCAA Division II Adams State (Colo.), the Pioneers rallied from an 8-2 deficit to win the opener, 10-8, before watching a 9-5 lead almost disappear but holding on for a 9-8 victory in the nightcap. The Saturday sweep followed a Friday split in which Wayland took the series opener, 5-4 in eight innings, before being one-hit in a 3-0 game two loss.
Wayland, ranked the equivalent of 35
th in the NAIA, improved its record to 9-6 on the season. Adams State, making its first appearance of the year, went home to Alamosa, Colo., with a 1-3 mark.
In Saturday's first game, Wayland fell behind 8-2 after the Grizzles put up three runs in the third and five in the fourth. The Pioneers started their comeback in the fifth, plating three runs with two outs, first on a double by
Carlos Collazo followed by an RBI-single from
Luis Vargas, then two bases-loaded pitching blunders. After
Marco Rivera doubled and
Dawin Santos walked,
Jake Green was plunked to bring in a run then
Jacob Adams was walked to force in another.
Wayland completed the comeback in the sixth. Another pitching miscue, this time a wild pitch, plated
Tristan Galbreath to make it 8-6. Another RBI-single by Vargas was followed by a two-run homer by Rivera that put Wayland up 9-8. The Pioneers got another rally going when Green and Adams hit back-to-back singles and
Austin Moya walked before Anzaldua was hit by a pitch for an insurance marker.
Down to its last three outs, Adams State opened the seventh with a triple, sending WBU pitcher
Gloymer Cuevas to the bench after 2 1/3 solid innings.
Chase Jones took his place and struck out the next two batters before inducing a game-inning ground-out to third.
It wouldn't be the last time on Saturday that Jones – who earned the one-inning win Friday in relief of an impressive 13-strikeout performance from
Tanner Solomon – would be called on to save the Pioneers.
Jones did it again in the series finale, which saw the Grizzlies again jump out to an early 5-0 lead after two on the strength of a pair of home runs. Wayland's
Brock Webber and Vargas answered those homers and the Pioneers raised three run-scoring doubles by Vargas, Adams and Anzaldua. A five-run fifth completed Wayland's offensive output for the day, providing a 9-5 lead.
The Grizzlies still had some fight in them in their last at-bat. With one on and down to their last out, Adams State managed a single before right-fielder Sammy David blasted a three-run homer that closed the gap to one.
Enter Jones one final time.
The 6-foot-1, 230-pound, no-nonsense, right-handed junior from Rowlett took care of business in a hurry, throwing just three pitches – a foul ball and two swinging misses – to secure the win.
Vargas ended his day going 5-for-7 with six RBIs and three runs. He added one to his NAIA-leading home run total, which now stands at 10.
The Pioneers are due to play at McMurry at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Abilene for their next game. Next weekend's Sooner Athletic Conference-opening series at Texas Wesleyan has been cancelled due to COVID-19 issues, although WBU coaches are looking for a replacement opponent. Short of that, after McMurry, the Pioneers will open SAC play at home March 12 against Southwestern Assemblies of God University.
