A Late-Inning Rally Propels the Pioneers to Win over USAO, Will Face Drovers in SAC Championship Game

Chickasha, Okla. --- The Pioneers are now one win away from claiming the 2025 Sooner Athletic Conference Baseball Championship after picking up a 13-5 win over 2-seed Mid-America Christian and a 13-8 thrilling victory over 3-seed Science and Arts (Okla.).
 
 
Game One vs. 2-Seed Mid-America Christian
 
The Evangels opened the scoring in the bottom of the 2^nd of this elimination game after a sacrifice fly gave them an early 1-0 lead.
 
The Pioneers didn't take long answering back – Felix Polanco tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the 3^rd with a fielder's choice that scored Riley Watson from third. Two batters later and the bases loaded with Pioneers, Arcadio Frausto worked a walk that allowed Christian Toledo to score and make it 2-1, WBU.
 
Delvis Claudio tacked on another run for the Pioneers in the top of the 4^th after smoking an RBI double to left to make it 3-1.
 
After keeping this game close across the first four innings of play, Wayland Baptist put the hammer down offensively and took complete control of this one.
 
Polanco stepped to the plate to lead-off the top of the 5^th, and he crushed a solo homer to left – his 16^th home run on the season – to push the Pioneers ahead 4-1. The fireworks weren't finished as Samuel Fabian followed with a bomb to left for back-to-back home runs for the Pioneers – his 23^rd home run on the season – to make it 5-1.
 
Brayden Peyton continued the fifth inning hit parade for the Pioneers after drilling an RBI double to right center that made it 6-1, WBU. Sinclair Pimentel made it 7-0 Pioneers by scoring on an Evangel wild pitch. Toledo capped off the massive inning with an RBI single that made it 9-1, WBU.
 
The Evangels chipped away at their deficit in the bottom of the 6^th after scoring three runs to make it 9-4.
 
However, the Pioneers made up all three runs – plus one more – in the bottom of the 7^th. Peyton started the rally off with a two-run blast to left – his 8^th home run on the season – that made it 11-4. Toledo added another run on an RBI double that scored Watson from second to make it 12-4. Polanco capped the big inning off with another sacrifice fly that made it 13-4, Pioneers.
 
The Evangels scored one run in the bottom of the 9^th, but Jose Escamilla slammed the door on MACU and clinched the 13-5 win for the Pioneers, eliminating MACU from the 2025 SAC Baseball Championships.
 
Toledo had a strong offensive showing in this one – finishing 3 for 4 with a double, an RBI, a walk, a stolen base, and two runs scored. Watson went 2 for 2 with three walks, two stolen bases, and four runs scored. Polanco went 1 for 5 with a home run, three RBIs, and a sacrifice fly. Peyton went 2 for 4 with a home run, a double, three RBIs, and a walk.
 
 
Game Two vs. 3-Seed Science and Arts (Okla.)
 
Science and Arts (Okla.) put the Pioneers in an early 4-0 hole after two innings of play, but that deficit didn't faze the Pioneer offense.
 
The offense woke up in the bottom of the 3^rd for the Pioneers after loading the bases for Fabian, who promptly cleared them after smashing a double down the left field line to trim the Pioneer deficit to just one run.
 
The Pioneers loaded the bases once again in the bottom of the 3^rd for Riley Watson, who was then plunked by a Drover pitch which allowed Fabian to walk home and score to tie the game at 4-4. Toledo followed next with a bases-loaded walk that gave the Pioneers a 5-4 lead after three innings of play.
 
Polanco added on another run for the Pioneers in the bottom of the 4^th with an RBI single that scored Cooper Jauz from second to make it 6-4, WBU.
 
USAO began to battle back over the next three innings and eventually took an 8-6 lead over the Pioneers in the top of the 8^th, putting Wayland Baptist on the brink of elimination.
 
Unfortunately for the Drovers, this Pioneer offense is lethal, and a two-run lead wasn't close to enough to keep them down.
 
Toledo started the bottom of the 8^th off with an opposite field bomb – his 4^th of the season – to trim the Pioneer deficit to just 8-7. Two batters later, Felix Polanco ripped a double in the left center field gap that scored Claudio from second to tie the game at 8-8.
 
Frausto delivered a massive go-ahead single to right that scored Polanco from second to give the Pioneers a 9-8 lead and all the momentum. That momentum carried over to Watson who delivered the dagger to the Drovers with a three-run blast to left center to make it 13-8, WBU, late.
 
Senior Juan Gil-Franco slammed the door on the Drovers in the top of the 9^th to secure the 13-8 win for the Pioneers and force a decisive final game to determine the 2025 Sooner Athletic Conference Baseball Champions.
 
Watson finished 2 for 4 with a home run and four total RBIs. Polanco went 2 for 3 with a double, a hit by pitch, two RBIs, a walk, and two runs scored. Toledo finished 1 for 4 with a home run, a walk, and two RBIs.
 
Although the Pioneer offense was the story in this comeback, junior Collin Arnold played a massive role in the win for Wayland Baptist. Arnold entered out of the bullpen with the Pioneers trailing 4-0, and he gave them 5.0 great innings to keep them in the game. Over those 5.0 innings, Arnold only allowed two runs and a walk while producing soft contact from Drover hitters.
 
 
Up Next
 
The Pioneers will face the Drovers one more time to determine who the 2025 Sooner Athletic Conference Baseball Champions will be. They will play on Monday, May 5^th at 1:00 PM in Chickasha, Oklahoma on the campus of Science and Arts (Okla.).
 
For more information about the 2025 SAC Baseball Championships, please visit: https://soonerathletic.org/tournaments/?id=823