Kansas City – The Pioneers 2024 campaign came to an end at the NCCAA Baseball World Series after falling 10-3 to the Falcons of Kansas Christian College.
Wayland Baptist opened the scoring in this win-or-go-home game against Kansas Christian after
Arcadio Frausto hit a first inning RBI triple that scored
Jan Rollon Jr. from first to give the Pioneers an early 1-0 lead. The Falcons responded in the bottom of the first by getting the bases loaded and scoring on a wild pitch to tie the game up at 1.
The Pioneers re-took the lead in the top of the 2
nd after
Riley Watson tripled to right and later scored on a
Hayden Ingram RBI groundout, making it 2-1, WBU. After a leadoff groundout to begin the bottom of the 2nd, the Falcons loaded the bases again and were able to draw a walk to tie the game up at 2. The Falcons followed that up with an RBI groundout to take a 3-2 lead with two outs in the frame. The next Falcon hitter smacked a single up the middle that scored two runs and extended their lead to 5-2.
Kansas Christian continued to extend their lead over the Pioneers in the bottom of the 3
rd after another RBI single made it a 6-2 ballgame. After a few scoreless innings, the Pioneers narrowed their deficit to 6-3 in the top of the 7th after an RBI groundout by
Cooper Jauz scored
Vann Johnson from third. The Falcons would open this game up in the bottom of the 7
th by scoring four runs and extending their lead to 10-3. The Pioneers got runners on in both the 8
th and 9
th innings, but they were unable to capitalize on the opportunities and fell short, 10-3.
Rollon Jr finished his final game going 3 for 4 with a walk and a run scored. Johnson went 3 for 4 with a run scored. Frausto finished 2 for 4 with a triple and an RBI.
Tyson Potts made the start for the Pioneers in this elimination game, and he threw 1.2 innings allowing five runs, four walks, and two strikeouts.
Tate House was outstanding out of the bullpen for the Pioneers, allowing one run over 4.1 innings while only allowing one walk and striking out three Falcons.
Connor Leach threw 1.2 innings in relief, allowing one run with no walks or strikeouts.
The Pioneers end their 2024 season with a 23-30 overall record, an 11-13 record during Sooner Athletic Conference play, had three members named to the SAC All-Conference Teams (
Felix Polanco, All-SAC 2
nd team;
Hayden Ingram, All-SAC Gold Glove SS;
Juan Gil-Franco, All-SAC Gold Glove Pitcher), and made the first NCCAA Baseball World Series appearance in program history.
To view the homepage of the 2024 NCCAA Baseball World Series, please visit
here.
