GOODWELL, Okla. – Wayland Baptist scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to secure a 5-1 Sooner Athletic Conference victory over Oklahoma-Panhandle State on Thursday afternoon. The Pioneers dropped the series opener, 7-6 in nine innings.
After the Pioneers (20-17, 5-12) and Aggies (12-26, 4-12) played extra frames in the opener, Game 2 appeared headed in the same direction as the teams were tied at 1 after six innings. But Wayland's bats came to life in its final at-bat when, with two outs,
Hayden Ingram,
Jake Green and
Arturo Disla delivered back-to-back-to-back singles, which wound up giving the Pioneers all the runs they needed. But WBU added three more thanks to a walk by
Jack Kolich, a wild pitch and a two-RBI single by
Dawin Santos, who also provided WBU its first run of the game on an RBI-double on the heels of lead-off singles from Green and Disla.
Santos, Disla and Kolich ended with two hits each while Green went 3-for-4 and scored twice. Wayland wound up with 13 hits.
On the mound, junior
Ty Jackson improved to 5-1 by tossing a four-hitter for his second straight and third complete game of the season. Jackson struck out five and walked just one, missing the shutout after the Aggies took a 1-0 lead in the fifth on a two-out, RBI-double.
In game 1, the Pioneers led 5-3 going into the bottom of the seventh, but the Aggies got a one-out, two-run home run to tie it. Wayland left two runners on base in the eighth and another in the ninth before OPSU won it thanks to four walks (one intentional) and a one-out, RBI-sacrifice fly to right.
Green also had three hits in that one while
Tyler Latham and Santos got two each toward Wayland's 10-hit total, which was four more than the Aggies. OPSU won on the strength of drawing 10 walks compared to three for the Pioneers.
Four WBU pitchers combined to strike out a dozen, half of those by starter
Tanner Solomon, while two OPSU arms fanned nine.
Jose Suero took the loss.
The rubber match of the series is set to start at noon Friday.
