MARSHALL, Texas – It was a story of two different games in the season opener for East Texas Baptist University as they split the double header Pomona-Pitzer College. ETBU won game one, 16-6, but then fell in game two, 11-3. ETBU is now 1-1 on the year and will play the Sagehens at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday night.
Brett Wagner led the team with four hits with six RBI.
Ben Lea,
Dylan Burnaman, and
Hunter Rumachik all had three hits. Wagner and Burnaman recorded home runs.
Jagger Neely earned the win in game one going four innings recording six strikeouts and one earned run.
Braden Karnes had three strikeouts in 1.2 innings.
Peyton Miller took the loss in game two but the pitching staff had 10 strikeouts as
Preston Crow recorded four. In the double header, ETBU recorded 20 strikeouts.
Game 1 | ETBU 16, PPC 6
Scoring in five of the six innings they were at-bat, ETBU unleashed for 16 runs in their season opener against Pomona-Pitzer. They opened the game with six runs in the first inning and five in the second inning for an 11-1 lead after two innings. Overall, ETBU recorded 14 hits and 10 strikeouts.
Neely received the start going four innings for the win with six strikeouts allowing just four hits and one earned run.
Landry Powell followed for 0.1 innings of work as Karnes followed with 1.2 innings with three strikeouts, two hits, and no runs.
Ethan Brister finished the game with an inning of work with one earned run and one strikeout with two hits.
Rumachik led the team with three hits in four at-bats with two runs scored and two RBI. Massimini,
Ben Lea, Wagner, and
Nicolas Chavez all had two hits. Wagner recorded five RBI while Burnaman gave three RBI, and
Carson Wilson and Chavez added two RBI. Burnaman collected the first home run of the year while Lea, Rumachik, Wilson, and Chavez all had doubles. ETBU also had five steals in the game.
Pomona-Pitzer took a 1-0 lead at the top of the inning before ETBU unloaded for six runs in the bottom of the first. Evangelista came in on a wild pitch to tie the game and then
Landon Durdin scored
Connor Massimini on an error for the 2-1 lead. Durdin came in on a Wagner ground out and then Rumachik made it 4-1 on a single to right field as Lea touched home plate. Chavez gave the Tigers a 5-1 lead singling up the middle scoring Rumachik. Wilson was the final run of the inning when he touched home plate on a Burnaman sacrifice fly.
Wagner singled in two runs in the second inning for the 8-1 lead as Wilson followed two batters later with a double adding two more runs. With a 10-1 lead, Chavez grounded out as Rumachik came in for the second time in two innings making it, 11-1. ETBU added a run in the third inning and two in the fifth for a 14-4 lead. In the sixth inning, Burnaman hit the first home run of the year over left centerfield making it 16-4. Pomona-Pitzer scored two runs in the top of the seven as ETBU took the 10-run win.
Game 2 | PPC 11, ETBU 3
Pomona-Pitzer scored five runs in the top of first inning and didn't look back as they finished with 11 runs on 13 hits. The Sagehens pitching staff recorded 15 strikeouts between three pitchers to shut down ETBU's offense allowing just eight hits and three runs.
Wagner went 2-of-4 with a RBI which was his home run.
Nick Massarini and Rumachik both had one RBI. Burnaman also added two hits and Wilson had a triple.
ETBU's first run of the game came in the bottom of the second on a Rumachik sacrifice fly as Massarini came in. Down 6-1 in the third, Massarini singled to left field as Burnaman became the second run of the game cutting the lead to four, 6-2. Pomona-Pitzer added two in the sixth for 8-2 lead but Wagner's home run made it 8-3. The Sagehens added two runs in the eighth and one in the ninth inning for the final, 11-3.
ETBU will play the final game of the series at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday night in Tiger Ballpark at Woods Field.
