Plainview – A great all-around performance in the Pioneer's game one victory secured a split in their Friday doubleheader against Southwestern Christian University to begin their final 2024 regular season series. Wayland Baptist claimed a 4-1 win in game one, but they suffered an 11-5 defeat in game two.
Wayland Baptist fell behind in game one after Southwestern Christian hit a sacrifice fly to make it 1-0 in the top of the 1
st. The Pioneers answered back in the bottom of the 2
nd after
Madison Martinez singled to center to score
Mikayla Carrillo from third to tie the game at 1. Martinez was caught trying to steal second, but
Abcde Garcia swiped home to give the Pioneers a 2-1 lead after two innings of play.
The Pioneers added to their lead in the bottom of the 3
rd when
Arianna Zubia singled to center to score
Reagan Davis, giving the Pioneers a 3-1 lead.
Mikayla Carrillo added an insurance run for the Pioneers in the bottom of the 5
th with an RBI single to right to make it 4-1. Wayland Baptist catcher,
Aaleah Rodriguez, made a huge defensive play in the top of the 7
th by throwing out an Eagle baserunner trying to steal second, making it two outs with nobody on instead of a runner in scoring position and one out. The Eagles got two runners on with two outs, but
Addy Rich got the final batter looking to seal the 4-1 victory for the Pioneers in game one.
Addy Rich made the start in game one for the Pioneers, and she continued her strong stretch of pitching. Rich pitched all seven innings, allowed one run, walked two, and struck out three Eagles.
Zubia finished 2 for 2 with an RBI, a run scored, and a walk. Martinez went 2 for 2 with an RBI and a walk. Carrillo went 1 for 3 with an RBI, a run scored, and a walk.
Game two began in the same fashion as game one, with the Pioneers falling behind in the top of the 1
st. Southwestern Christian made it 2-0 after an RBI double to left, and an RBI single to center. The Pioneers answered immediately in the bottom of the 1
st after
Berkley Bradley drove a single to left to score
Jadyn Fernandez from second to make it 2-1.
Mikayla Carrillo then reached on an Eagle error that allowed Bradley to score from second to tie the game at 2.
Jenna Sepeda gave the Pioneers a 3-2 lead with a single to right to score Carrillo from third.
Southwestern Christian tied the game up at 3 in the top of the 2
nd with a sacrifice fly to left field, but Wayland Baptist regained the lead in the bottom of the second after
Addy Rich hit a grounder to score Martinez making it 4-3, WBU. The Eagle offense erupted in the top of the 3
rd for four runs including three RBI singles, making it 7-4 in favor of SCU. The Eagles tacked on another run in the top of the 4
th with a sacrifice fly to make it 8-4. In the top of the 5
th, Southwestern Christian scratched across two more runs to make it a 10-4 ballgame.
Aaleah Rodriguez led off the bottom of the 5
th for Wayland Baptist, and she slapped a single down the third base line that got past the Eagles left fielder, allowing Rodriguez to sprint all the way around the base path to score and make it 10-5. The Eagles scored the final run of the game on an RBI ground out in the top of the 7
th, taking game two by a score of 11-5.
Sepeda finished 2 for 3 with a run drive in. Bradley went 1 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored. Martinez and Rodriguez each went 1 for 3 with a run scored.
Amber Poorbaugh was the starter for the Pioneers in game two. She pitched four innings, allowed seven runs, no walks, and struck out three Eagle batters.
Clarissa Rejino pitched three innings in relief for the Pioneers. She allowed two earned runs, no walks, and had two strikeouts.
The Pioneers will wrap up their 2024 regular season tomorrow with another doubleheader tomorrow afternoon against the Eagles of Southwestern Christian. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 12:00 PM.
