HOBBS, N.M. – Big innings proved costly for the Wayland Baptist baseball team as the Pioneers dropped both games of a non-conference doubleheader to University of the Southwest here Tuesday afternoon, 7-2 and 8-2.
In the opener, Wayland gave up six big runs in the fifth inning, then in the second game the Pioneers saw the Mustangs score seven runs in back-to-back innings. Meanwhile, WBU's bats never caught fire in either game as the Pioneers fell to 14-11 on the season. USW improved to 8-10.
Wayland, ranked the equivalent of 35
th in the NAIA, was held to four hits in each game.
In the opener, Southwest broke a scoreless tie in the fourth with a single run before piling on six in the fifth. Wayland avoided the shutout with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh when
Jake Green and
Jacob Adams hit back-to-back singles and
Daniel Goncalves walked to load the bases.
An error on the Southwest first baseman allowed courtesy runner
Casey Dudek to score, then
Gregory Ozuna's sacrifice brought home one more before
Carlos Collazo flied out to center to end the game.
Mustangs pitcher TJ Ruiz went the distance, allowing one earned run on four hits with six strikeouts and three walks.
Jose Suero started for Wayland and pitched two scoreless innings before
Ty Jackson went the next two.
Jacob Damian struggled in his one-third of an inning, then
Chase Jones finished it.
In game 2, the Pioneers jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the second when
Marco Rivera scored on Adams' single before Adams scored on Webber's double. But those were lone runs of the game for Wayland, which got only four more base runners the rest of the way.
The Mustangs went ahead during a four-run third then scored three more in the fourth and another in the fifth. Southwest managed a dozen hits against three Wayland pitchers: starter
Boston McIntire,
John Sauceda and
Gloymer Cuevas. Alex Buitron pitched a hitless sixth.
USW starter Jacob Chavarria lasted four innings, before giving way to a pair of relievers. Combined, they struck out six, matching Ruiz's K total from the first game.
The games came a little over a week after the teams met in a pair of doubleheaders that saw them split games in Plainview and Hobbs and a week before the Pioneers and Mustangs will meet again in Plainview for two more on March 23. In between, Wayland will travel to McPherson, Kan., for a three-game SAC series against Central Christian (4-14-1, 1-5 SAC) on Friday and Saturday.
The Tigers picked up a 9-6 win over Oklahoma-Panhandle State in their last conference game for their first SAC win over two losses to OPSU and a series sweep (13-2, 11-1 10-0) by second-ranked USAO.
