Plainview, Texas – The Pioneers swept the two-game doubleheader on Saturday against the Aggies of Oklahoma Panhandle State University after two great pitching performances by
Tyson Potts and
Nathan Baca. Wayland Baptist took game one by a score of 5-0, and they secured the game two win, 7-3.
Potts made the start in game one for the Wayland Baptist, giving up a leadoff hit to right, but
Samuel Fabian showed off his cannon of an arm by throwing the runner out at second trying to stretch a single into a double. After the Pioneers got on the board in the top of the 1
st by a
Delvis Claudio RBI single, the Pioneers hit back-to-back jacks by
Samuel Fabian and
Arcadio Frausto to make it 4-0 in favor of the Pioneers. Potts threw two more score scoreless innings, then got another insurance run when Fabian went yard yet again with this one hitting the scoreboard in right center field, his 2
nd of the game and 7
th on the season, to make it 5-0 Pioneers. Frausto came up to bat in the bottom of the 6
th and hit one to the warning track that was snagged by the Aggies to send a 5-0 game into the 7
th. The Pioneers finished game 1 with the 5-0 win.
Potts shut down the Aggies the rest of the outing in game 1 as he finished with a complete-game shutout, his 4
th complete game of the season, to defeat the Aggies. He finished his 7-inning gem with only 4 hits allowed, no runs, 4 walks, and 5 strikeouts. Potts has now lowered his ERA to 3.65.
Fabian hit two moonshots during his 2-3 outing at the plate in game one, driving in 3 RBIs. Frausto hit a solo shot, his 6
th of the season.
Vann Johnson also finished 2-2 at the plate with a couple of base hits.
Game 2 saw a pitcher's duel to begin the game as
Nathan Baca started off throwing three shutout innings.
Hayden Ingram made an outstanding leaping grab at shortstop to rob an Aggie hitter of potential extra bases. After the Pioneers got two runners on by a hit by pitch and a walk, Fabian drove a double to the gap to score two runs to give the Pioneers a 2-0 lead. The Pioneers got two more runners on in the bottom of the 4
th to bring up
Felix Polanco, and Polanco smoked a 3-run missile over the right field wall to make it 5-0 Pioneers. The Pioneers scratched another run across in the bottom of the 5
th inning after
Hayden Ingram hit a sacrifice fly to right to score
Riley Watson from third to make it 6-0.
After 12.2 scoreless innings on the day, the Aggies finally scratched across their first runs of the afternoon on an error that scored two runs to make it 6-2 going into the bottom of the 6
th inning. Wayland Baptist got another run across in the bottom of the 6
th after a sacrifice fly by Fabian scored the runner from third to make it 7-2.
William Flowers inherited a bases loaded jam and got the Pioneers out of the jam only allowing two of the runners to cross home plate, securing the 7-4 victory for the Pioneers.
Baca pitched 6 great innings in his first start of the season for the Pioneers. In his 6 innings, he allowed 2 unearned runs, 2 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 5 Aggies.
Polanco finished 1-2 with a 3-run homer, 3 runs scored, a walk, and two stolen bases. Frausto finished 2-2 with two intentional walks and a stolen base. Ingram finished 1-2 with an RBI, a run scored, and a sacrifice fly.
The Pioneers will look to extend their win streak to 7 games and get the 3-game sweep of Oklahoma Panhandle State University with a 9-inning game set for Sunday afternoon. First pitch for the single game on Sunday is scheduled for 1:00 PM.
