Gallery: (3-2-2021) Baseball vs. McMurry
ABILENE –
Gregory Ozuna tied school records with six hits and five runs scored as Wayland Baptist rolled to a 21-8 victory over McMurry here Tuesday afternoon.
Ozuna, Wayland's junior, lead-off hitting shortstop, enjoyed his best hitting day as a Pioneer, raising his season batting average from .268 to .333. He had a home run, double and four singles. Ozuna's previous high hits game was four last season.
The six hits ties a 10-year-old program record held by Miguel Pagan against Northwestern Oklahoma on April 17, 2011. Ozuna's five runs ties a mark by several players, most recently
Matt Flores three years ago.
Ozuna wasn't the only Pioneer with a big bat day as Wayland finished with 18 hits.
Carlos Collazo, batting second, was 3-for-5 with three RBI and three runs, while No. 3-hole hitter
Marco Rivera homered twice and drove in five runs. Ten different players scored.
McMurry committed eight errors, resulting in 11 unearned runs, and six WarHawks pitchers issued 10 walks. Wayland, meanwhile, played error-free defense, and seven Pioneer pitchers combined to strike out nine and while walking three. Bobby McIntire was the only hurler to throw more than one inning, throwing three. He allowed three runs on three hits and struck out three.
WBU scored in every inning but two, breaking open the game with an eight-run third that provided a 13-3 lead. The Pioneers never took their foot off the gas, scoring six runs in the eighth when the game was called on the 10-run rule.
The Pioneers return to action at 1 p.m. Saturday for a home doubleheader against University of the Southwest (N.M.). Those two teams will play two more in Hobbs, N.M., on Sunday.
The USW series replaces Wayland's Sooner Athletic Conference-opening series at Texas Wesleyan which was cancelled due to COVID-19 issues.
