BETHANY, Okla. – Wayland Baptist will try to salvage a win Saturday after dropping both games of a Sooner Athletic Conference doubleheader to league-leading Southwestern Christian here Friday afternoon.
The Eagles (34-4, 13-1 SAC), ranked the equivalent of 31
st in the NAIA, won the series opener 6-4 before scoring a run in their final at-bat to claim the nightcap, 9-8. The losses dropped Wayland to 20-18 overall and 6-8 in the SAC. After being swept by No. 15 Science & Arts of Oklahoma last weekend in Chickasha, Okla., the Pioneers have dropped five league games in a row, three of those by two runs or fewer.
WBU had the lead in both games Friday.
In game 1, the Pioneers were up 3-1 after 4½ innings, getting runs on
Carlos Collazo's RBI-triple and
Luis Vargas' groundout in the first inning and
Justin Porter's RBI-single in the second.
But the Eagles recorded five hits and took advantage of two errors by Wayland to score five runs in the fifth. SCU opened the inning with four singles. A bobble at second was followed by an RBI-double then a misplayed third strike allowed another run in as SCU assumed a 6-3 lead.
Wayland threatened briefly in the seventh when Collazo, who had half of Wayland's six hits, scored after a two-out triple. Vargas then lined out to right to end the game.
Tanner Solomon took the loss, giving up five earned runs on nine hits with seven strikeouts and no walks in four innings.
Ty Jackson allowed only one hit and fanned two in his two innings of work.
Southwestern Christian's Victor Del Carmon struck out eight in six innings, giving up five hits, before Jordan Bahnuk picked up the save with a one-run, one-hit seventh.
In game 2, the Eagles raced to a 4-0 lead in the first, all runs coming with two outs powered by a hit batsman, three singles and double. But the Pioneers answered in their next at-bat and scored five runs.
Marco Rivera led off with a double,
Dawin Santos singled and
Brock Webber walked to load the bases.
Daniel Goncalves drew an RBI-walk then an errant throw allowed two runs in. Porter's foul-out opened the door for another run then another error allowed in the go-ahead run.
The lead didn't last long as the Eagles scored twice in the bottom of the second to regain the upper-hand, although Wayland managed to tie it at 6-all in the third when Rivera singled and, after two walks, scored on
Daniel Goncalves' sacrifice fly.
It stayed knotted until the fifth when SCU's Jabes Turner hit a two-out, two-run homer. Wayland got both runs back in the seventh when Santos, who got three of WBU's eight hits, greeted closer Secundino Morales with a double followed immediately by a game-tying homer by Webber. The Pioneers weren't able to score any more after back-to-back groundouts to short and a fly-out to left.
The Eagles managed to squeeze in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh thanks to a lead-off walk, a sacrifice bunt, a wild pitch and a sac fly to center.
Kyle Eifert started for WBU, pitching one inning before
Gloymer Cuevas entered one batter into the second. Cuevas went 3 3/2 before
Boston McIntire came on in the bottom of the fifth.
The three WBU pitchers allowed eight hits, striking out one and walking two.
Game 3 begins at 2 p.m. Saturday.
