By Alan Wiederhold
HT Athletic Communications
AUSTIN – Huston-Tillotson University's baseball team split their Friday doubleheader with in-state HBCU Athletic Conference rival Wiley, winning the opener 7-5 before the Wildcats won the finale 13-7.
Both HT (14-12) and Wiley (9-11) maintained .500 records in HBCUAC West Division play, as both teams are now 3-3 in league games. The Rams visit Southern–New Orleans this weekend for their next conference games.
But before the Rams travel east to the Bayou State, they will host former Red River Athletic Conference rival Our Lady of the Lake in a single, nine-inning game Tuesday, March 10. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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GAME ONE: HT 7, Wiley 5
The Rams claimed their third comeback win in as many home games thanks to a six-run sixth inning that flipped a three-run deficit into a 7-4 lead.
Payton Johnson's three-run homerun tied the game in the bottom of the sixth. Danny Hernandez regained the lead for the Rams with a two-RBI double later in the inning, while Tucker Allen capped the scoring with an RBI double of his own.
Weston Bailey, the reigning HBCUAC Newcomer of the Week, won his second consecutive start on the mound. The Austin native and transfer from NCAA Division II Ouachita Baptist struck out four batters over six innings to win his first conference game of the season and improve his overall season record to 2-2.
Junior transfer Evan Mendoza pitched the seventh inning and struck out one batter to pick up his conference-leading fourth save of the season. Mendoza also ranks second in the conference with 30 strikeouts, leading all relief pitchers in that category.
Johnson went 2-for-3 at the plate, while Trey Garza went 2-for-2 with two runs scored.
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GAME TWO: Wiley 13, HT 7
The Wildcats jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the top of the first and never trailed as Wiley avoided the series sweep.
Joseph Brown, one of the heroes from Thursday's comeback win, went 2-for-3 with a homerun, a double, and four RBIs in the series finale. A freshman from Missouri City, Texas, Brown made his fourth consecutive start and finished the series against Wiley with four hits – three for extra bases –in eight at-bats and six RBIs.
Hernandez had the Rams' only other RBI in the game, while Brown and Josh Wilk scored twice in the contest. Kendall Brown picked up a single in a pinch-hit appearance.
Nathaniel Davila had the best relief outing among HT pitchers in the game, allowing only two earned runs (and three total) in three innings of work.
– HT –
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