Hobbs, New Mexico – The Pioneers pitching woes continues as they drop a midweek non-conference matchup at the University of the Southwest (NM) 12-10 to extend their season long losing streak to eight games.
After a scoreless first inning of play, Wayland Baptist jumped all over the Mustangs after
Hayden Ingram singled to right with the bases loaded, scoring two runs to give the Pioneers the early lead.
Felix Polanco followed that up with an RBI single to to left to make it 3-0. The Mustangs answered with two solo home runs in the bottom of the 2
nd to make it 3-2, Pioneers.
Delvis Claudio and
Cooper Jauz got those two runs back immediately in the top of the 3
rd after hitting back-to-back bomb to lead-off the inning, giving the Pioneers a 5-2 lead. That was Claudio's 7
th home run on the season and Jauz's 2
nd bomb on the year. The Mustangs got a run back in the bottom of the 4
th after a Pioneers error allowed a runner to cross home to make it 5-3.
Felix Polanco extended the Pioneer lead in the top of the 5
th after an RBI single scored Ingram from third to make it 6-3.
Arcadio Frausto later singled to right which scored Polanco from second to make it 7-3, Wayland Baptist. The Mustangs trimmed their deficit to one run after a 3-run home run made it a 7-6 game after 5 innings of play. The Pioneers went down scoreless in the top of the 6
th, and the Mustangs answered with 3 runs on 4 hits including a lead-off homer to take a 9-7 lead. The Mustangs added two more runs in the bottom of the 7
th to extend their lead over the Pioneers to 11-7.
Brayden Peyton drove in another Pioneer run after hitting a sacrifice fly to score Claudio from third to make it 11-8. USW added one more run in the bottom of the 8
th to make it a 12-8 ballgame. With one out in the top of the 9
th, Polanco crushed a solo home run, his 9
th on the season, to make it a 12-9 score.
Riley Watson drew a bases loaded walk to bring in another run and make it 12-10 with the tying run on second base, but the Pioneers left them stranded and suffered the 12-10 defeat in this midweek non-conference matchup.
Polanco finished 3-6 with a home run, 3 RBIs, two runs scored, and two stolen bases. Ingram went 3-4 with a double, two RBIs, a walk, and a run scored. Claudio finished 3-5 with a home run, 3 runs scored, a hit by pitch, and a stolen base. Jauz went 1-3 with a home run and 3 walks.
Branin Seibert got the start for the Pioneers, and he allowed two runs over two innings of work, while walking two batter and striking out two. The Pioneer pitching staff has struggled with command as of late, and that continued today as the Mustangs drew 13 walks.
The Pioneers will travel to Fort Worth this weekend for a 3-game Sooner Athletic Conference road series against Texas Wesleyan University. They will play a doubleheader on Friday and a single nine-inning game on Saturday. Game one for the Friday doubleheader is set for 2:00 PM.
