Plainview – The Pioneers were unable to get anything going in this Opening Weekend series against Tabor College as the Blue Jays swept Saturday's doubleheader and take all four games in the series. Tabor's offense erupted for a 17-5 win in game one, then the Pioneers couldn't get any run support in a 3-0 loss in game two.
GAME ONE
Wayland Baptist's first-inning struggles continued in game one of today's doubleheader as Tabor scratched across four early runs on five hits.
Samuel Fabian put the Pioneers on the board in the bottom of the 2
nd with a solo shot to right – his first home run of the season. The Blue Jays answered back in the top of the 3
rd with another run to make it 5-1.
The Pioneers cut their deficit in half after
Sinclair Pimentel ripped a triple to right to score
Christian Toledo from first, and then Pimentel came across to score after an RBI ground out to make it 5-3 Blue Jays after three innings of play. However, the Blue Jays extinguished the Pioneer momentum after a three-run home run pushed their lead up to 8-3.
Tabor struck again in each of the next two innings – scoring three runs int the top of the 5
th and two runs in the top of the 6
th – to take a 13-4 lead late in game one.
Riley Watson would get a run back for the Pioneers with a sacrifice fly to right, but four more runs in the top of the 7
th for the Blue Jays sealed the 17-5 defeat for Wayland Baptist.
Pimentel led the way for the Pioneers offensively – finishing a perfect 3 for 3 with a triple, an RBI, a walk, and a run scored. Jauz went 2-3, while Fabian went 1 for 4 with a solo homer.
GAME TWO
Game four took an unexpected turn compared to the first three games of this series as we got an old-fashioned pitchers dual. The two teams were held scoreless through the first two innings despite the Pioneers having a great opportunity to score in the bottom of the 1
st.
Tabor would eventually strike first with two runs in the top of the 3
rd inning despite only having three hits in the game up to this point. The score would stay 2-0 for a few innings, but the Pioneers gained some momentum after starter
Wellington Vargas struck out the side in the top of the 5
th. The Pioneers answered with two guys on and only one out, but they were unable to bring the runners in and continued to trail 2-0 late.
The Blue Jays scored their final run of the game in the top of the 7
th – putting the pressure on the Pioneer offense to support the pitching staff's effort. Wayland Baptist had the tying run up at the plate with two outs, but Tabor escaped the jam and secured the 3-0 win over the Pioneers.
Wellington Vargas was easily the most effective pitcher for the Pioneers this weekend – finishing today's game two start with 6.1 innings pitched, only three hits allowed, three earned runs, four walks, and seven strikeouts.
Christian Toledo and
Adonis Bernal went a combined 4 for 7 in game two with four singles.
Felix Polanco and
Cooper Jauz were the only other Pioneers to record a hit in this one.
UP NEXT
The Pioneers will hit the road for the first time this season as they travel to San Antonio, Texas for a four-game series with Our Lady of the Lake University. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday, January 31
st, then they will conclude the series with another doubleheader on Saturday, February 1
st. Game one on Friday will begin at 2:00 PM.
