Baseball Lions Feel Sting of Defeat

Denney smashes three hits on Saturday

WAXAHACHIE, Texas -- The start of the Red River Athletic Conference season began this weekend for both the University of Texas at Brownsville and Southwestern Assemblies of God University. For the visiting Scorpions, it was worth the 450-mile trip.

UTB (7-1, 3-0 in RRAC) took both ends of a Saturday double-dip, winning 10-1 and 11-5 to sweep the three-game set from the Lions, who are now 3-5 overall and 0-3 in league games.

Game One Review: UTB wins a-Ginn

In the first game on a clear Saturday that saw temps reach the low 60's, the Scorpions scored in six of the seven innings, collecting nine hits in the process of winning, 10-1. First baseman Matt Ginn went 2-for-3 with a double and a home run to lead the assault. He also scored three times. SAGU pitching walked eight batters for the second straight game, paving the way for UTB.

Sophomore Michael Reeves (Ovilla, Tx / Ovilla Christian) pitched the first four innings, yielding five runs on six hits. He also struck out three. Reeves took the loss.

The Lions lone run came in the bottom of the third. Shortstop David Gomez (Arlington, Tx / Bowie HS) singled to drive in Dom Denney (Albuquerque, NM / La Cueva HS). The score drew SAGU to within 2-1 before the Stingers put up crooked numbers over the next three innings to pull away.

Jared Denton (Mission, Tx / Sharyland HS) and DuJuan Prater (Copperas Cove, Tx / Copperas Cove HS) each registered base hits to go along with the singles by Gomez and Denney as the Lions totaled four in the game.

UTB's Danny Gidora hurled a five-inning four hitter, striking out three and walking just one to get the win. He is now 2-0.

Game Two Recap:  Lions rally comes up short

The Purple Pride battled the Arachnids tightly until the fifth frame, when UTB extended a 1-0 lead with three runs. They tallied in the final four innings as well to post an 11-5 triumph at the Waxahachie Sports Complex.

SAGU erupted for five runs in the sixth. Cameron Ward (Mansfield, Tx / Grace Prep) knocked in a run on a sacrifice fly before Patrick Wherland (Petrolia, Tx / Petrolia HS) ripped a 2-run single. Denney doubled and scored on a two-bagger off the bat of Jared Jones (Copperas Cove, Tx / Copperas Cove HS).

Dustin Jett (Patterson, La / Patterson HS), Wherland and Denney each rapped a pair of hits, while Gomez and Jones had the other hits for SAGU. Denney went 3-for-7 on Saturday, scoring twice.

Chris Stanley (Harker Heights, Tx / Ellison HS) was tagged with the loss. The junior righthander went five and one-third innings, giving up seven hits, six runs and four walks. He fanned five Scorpions, the most of any Lions hurler over the weekend.

For the game, UTB collected 14 hits, including four doubles, and stole a whopping eleven bases. They were credited with a school record 14 thefts on Friday.

Mitch Schaafsma (3-0) got the win for the Stingers, tossing six shutout innings. He gave up four hits and struck out five.

The top three batters in the UTB lineup did much of the damage. Jorge Camorlinga, Joel Fernandez and Matt Warner each had three hits, with Fernandez, the third baseman, producing three RBI's. Camorlinga and Warner had two ribbies apiece. All three stole two bases each.

UT-Brownsville, the largest school in the RRAC at 18,000, went 31-24 a year ago and qualified for the NAIA national tournament. This was the first meeting between the schools since UTB joined the conference three years ago.

SAGU Jayvee Squad to play two on Monday

Southwestern's junior varsity baseball team will play a doubleheader on Monday against Brookhaven at the WSC at 4:00pm.

Lions Headed for the Capitol City

The Lions will be in Austin next weekend for a three-game series against Huston-Tillotson University. First pitch on Friday, February 18, will be at 2:00pm, with a Saturday doubleheader getting started at noon. Last spring the Lions went 1-2 against Tillotson. SAGU won 9-5 and dropped 11-1 and 7-1 decisions.

The team's next home appearance will be versus Northwood University on February 25-26. The Friday game starts at 6:00pm and the twinbill the following day at noon.

Current Standings in the RRAC

*Record in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference, where LSU-S was a previous member.