Wayland Baptist increased its win streak to four games before suffering a setback Tuesday afternoon at Wilder Field where the Pioneers split with Jarvis Christian College, winning 10-7 and then falling 9-4.
The out-of-conference outcomes leave Wayland with a 13-13 record prior to this weekend’s Sooner Athletic Conference series against Science and Arts of Oklahoma in Chickasha. The Pioneers and 17th-ranked Drovers (19-9, 3-3) square off in a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Friday before a single game at noon Saturday. USAO, after losing two of three at Texas Wesleyan (ranked the equivalent of 35th) last weekend, defeated Friends University (Kan.) on Tuesday, 3-0.
Against Jarvis (12-16), a member of the NAIA’s Red River Athletic Conference, the Pioneers and Bulldogs settled for a split after what would have been the rubber game Monday was cancelled due to weather- and travel-related issues as Jarvis played a weekend series at Houston-Victoria.
Wayland won the opener behind the pitching of junior Kevin Torres and sophomore Nicholas Moore, aided by another home run by junior third baseman Gregg Veneklasen.
Veneklasen started the scoring with his fourth homer in four games and team-leading 10th of the season, a two-run blast to left field. Veneklasen is now tied for sixth in the NAIA in home runs.
The Pioneers tacked on three more runs in the third on an RBI-single by left-fielder Juan Ponce and a two-RBI double down the right-field line by Hector Romero.
WBU increased its lead to 9-2 with four runs in the fourth on the strength of RBI-doubles by Veneklasen and Gaby De La Cruz followed by a two-RBI single by senior first baseman Caleb Davidson, who got an RBI-single in the sixth.
Jarvis made a game of it in the fifth, knocking out Torres who left having giving up seven runs (six earned) on nine hits with two strikeouts. Moore came in and managed to stop the bleeding then retired the Bulldogs in order, save for one error, in the sixth and seventh. Catcher Ernesto Lizardi erased the lone base runner over the final two frames.
Romero went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI while Veneklasen finished 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. Davidson wound up 2-for-3 with three RBI. Ponce scored twice.
Just as Wayland seized control of the first game and never gave it up, Jarvis Christian did the same in game two, scoring a run in each of the first two innings before putting four on the board in the fourth to take a 6-0 lead.
The Pioneers cut the deficit in half with a pair of runs in the fourth – both crossing when Jarvis’ shortstop committed an error on WBU catcher Derek Farmer’s grounder – and another in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Veneklasen. But the Bulldogs got all three runs back in the top of the seventh – two on a home run – to put it away.
Veneklasen wrapped up his day with an RBI-single in Wayland’s last at-bat as he completed his day 3-for-6 with five RBI and two runs scored.
Will Bass produced two of Wayland’s six hits in the nightcap.
Both teams used four pitchers each. For Wayland, freshman Collin Isbell (1-2) allowed six runs (four earned) on seven hits with five strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings. Bryson Calaway relieved and went three innings, giving up a run on four hits with four Ks. Caleb Swofford and Ryne Williams finished up.
(Courtesy Wayland Baptist Athletics)
