The No. 6 seed in the upcoming Sooner Athletic Conference Championships will be on the line when Wayland Baptist and Southwestern Christian – having split their doubleheader Friday at Wilder Field – wrap up the regular-season Saturday afternoon.
After the Pioneers dramatically won Friday's first game on the strength of a six-run sixth inning highlighted by
Arturo Disla's three-run home run, the visiting Eagles took advantage of three Wayland errors to claim game 2, 3-1.
Those results left Wayland with records of 26-21 overall and 8-15 in the conference while Southwestern Christian moved to 26-22, 7-16. The winner of Saturday's game, set to start at 1 p.m. following Senior Day festivities due to begin at 12:30, will lay claim to the No. 6 seed while the loser is the seventh seed in the SAC Tournament May 6-9 in Oklahoma.
On Friday, Wayland didn't enjoy its best showing in the field, committing three errors in each game. While the Pioneers weren't able to overcome the miscues in the nightcap, they were in the opener thanks mostly to 13 hits, none bigger than Disla's three-run, game-winning homer.
Before that two-out blast on the first offering by relief pitcher Connor O'Malley, Wayland got plenty of other hits, including at least one by each starter. Disla provided a team-best three hits while
Tyler Latham and
Justin Porter got two each. Latham,
Dawin Santos and
Jack Kolich ended with two RBIs each, with Santos' getting his on his team-leading 14th home run in the fifth, while
Jake Green, Disla and
Brock Webber all scored two runs apiece.
With a strong wind blowing out, the Pioneers trailed the entire game as both teams scored runs in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth innings. WBU was down 8-5 going into what wound up as its last at-bat, which began with
Danny Arambula being hit by a pitch. Porter singled then Latham hit an RBI sacrifice fly. A hit by
Hayden Ingram was followed by a fielder's choice by Green, Santos getting hit by a pitch, then Kolich slapping a two-RBI single up the middle. Disla followed with his three-run homer, his 13
th on the year.
Closer
Jose Suero came on in relief of
Chase Jones and get the Eagles three-up, three-down, including fanning the final two batters. That netted Suero his league-leading ninth save while Jones picked up the win by recording the final two outs of the sixth after starter
Tanner Solomon – in the final home outing of his five-year collegiate career – lasted 5 1/3 innings, allowing eight runs (five earned) on 10 hits while striking out eight and walking two.
After combining for 19 runs and 23 hits in the opener, the Pioneers' and Eagles' bats slowed a bit in game 2, totaling just four runs and 10 hits.
The Eagles struck for two unearned runs in the first when Wayland committed three errors. The Pioneers cut their two-run deficit in half in the fourth on an RBI-single by Disla.
SCU manufactured an insurance run in the sixth on the strength of a single, sacrifice bunt, ground-out single and balk.
Wayland made it interesting in its last at-bat, even after Arambula doubled but was gunned down at third trying to stretch it. Porter drew a two-out walk to bring up the top of the order, and Latham singled to bring the winning run to the plate in the form of Ingram. But Nick Smith, the team's designated hitter who came on to pitch in the fifth, got a looking strikeout to end it.
