February 28, 2020

Waxahachie, TX- Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) Baseball hit the field on Friday afternoon for their first Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) series of the year against Wayland Baptist University (WBU). The Lions (16-6, 1-1) split the games with the Pioneers (16-7, 1-1). SAGU won the first game 5-4 and took the second 12-2.

Game 1

Top Performers

• Ben Bills ( JR/York, PA ) pitched 5.0 inning allowing 2 earned runs, walking one batter and striking out 5 others. Logan Mann ( JR/New Bloomfield, PA ) slammed the door on a WBU rally earning the save.
• Eric Crum ( FR/Kyle, TX ) led the way for the Lions with 2 RBI and also scored a run.
• Hunter Watson ( SO/Whitney, TX ) added an RBI of his own while Bills scored one run and knocked in one as well.
• SAGU had a balanced offensive attack as seven different batters recorded a hit as they hit .280 as a team.

Lions Review

• Bills sat down the Pioneers in order in the top of the 1st inning. He got a big boost in the bottom of the inning as the Lions scored 3 runs thanks to an Eric Crum single which scored two runs.
• Bills allowed just 2 hits over the next two innings as SAGU kept their 2-0 lead going into the bottom of the 3 ^rd inning.
• Bills helped his own cause in the bottom of the inning as he cranked a home run over the left-field fence which extended the lead to 4-0 over WBU.
• Crum would come around to score in the bottom of the 4 ^th inning thanks to a Watson single to give the Lions a 5-0 advantage.
• SAGU found themselves in trouble as WBU had two baserunners on thanks to a walk and an error by the Lions. WBU capitalized with a single and a double and were suddenly back in the game trailing 5-4.
• A scoreless 6 ^th inning provided WBU with one last chance in the top of the 7 ^th inning. The tying run reached on a walk, but the Lions turned a 4-6-3 double-play to end the inning and the game.

Game 2

Top Performers

• Bills led the Lions with 2 hits, 2 RBI and 1 run scored.
• Kolby Clark ( FR/Waco, TX ) pitched 2.0 innings giving up 5 hits and 4 earned runs. Jared Anderson(JR/Houston, TX) entered in relief and pitched well as he logged 1.2 innings, allowing 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out three batters.
• The Lions hit .222 for the game.
• Joseph Vazquez ( SO/Katy, TX ) logged the only other hit and run for the Lions during the second game.
• SAGU hurt themselves as they committed 6 errors while leaving eight baserunners stranded.

Lions Review

• Smith got the first two WBU batters out on four pitches but surrendered a home run to the third batter allowing the Pioneers to jump out to a 1-0 lead.
• A similar start came in the bottom of the inning as WBU got two quick outs. Then Vazquez hit a single and then scored after a Bills double to tie the game 1-1.
• WBU had one hit in the 2 ^nd inning but scored 2 more runs thanks to two SAGU errors. The Pioneers had two errors of their own in the bottom of the inning, but SAGU couldn’t capitalize trailing 3-1 into the 3 ^rd inning.
• Two doubles by WBU in the top of the 3 ^rd set the table for 3 runs to cross the plate as they took a 6-1.
• The Lions would give up 3 more runs going into the bottom of the 6 ^th inning, but they were finally able to get back on the board as Bills took the first pitch he saw and deposited over the center field fence for a home run.
• SAGU allowed 3 more runs in the top of the 7 ^th as they would lose by a 12-2 final.

What’s New

SAGU and WBU will finish their series tomorrow with one game back on the SAGU campus. The game will begin at 12:00 pm.

As a leading Christian university, SAGU educates and prepares individuals who want to serve Christ and others. SAGU helps students discover and develop their God-given callings in a Spirit-empowered, learning community.

We believe in affordable tuition, made possible in part through the financial support of donors who embrace the mission of SAGU and the importance of affordable, accredited programs to train Christians for leadership in ministry, business, education, and service.

Most majors are available in-person in Waxahachie, TX, and online through a wide range of associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees.