Marshall, Texas – February 26, 2017- The Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) baseball team split a four-game series with Wiley College .  The Lions won games two and three, giving them a 9-11 record for the season.  SAGU’s Raul Castro pitched a shut-out in game three.

Game One (L 5-4)

SAGU jumped to the early lead after scoring one run in the top of the first. Jake Payonk made it on base to start things off and then Raul Castro singled to shallow left to score Payonk.

SAGU didn’t score again until the top of the fifth and by that point Wiley had a 5-1 lead.  SAGU scored three runs off of three hits.  Two of the Lions runs came from wild pitches by WC.

Castro went three for four with one RBI and one run scored.  Payonk went two for three with two runs scored. Tanner Lindle , Collin Gifford and Spenser Hart all saw time on the mound.

Game Two (W 15-2)

The Lions were dominant on offense in game two, scoring in every inning but the fourth.  In the top of the second, Chris Wallace hit a double to deep center to begin the inning. Jake Payonk hit a homerun over the right field fence on a 2-1 count.  The Lions scored five runs on five hits and one Wiley error.

On top of his homerun, Payonk picked up the win for SAGU on the mound.  He pitched five innings, with five strike-outs and allowing five hits. Kacy Waxler and Ty Behinger each pitched an inning in relief.

Game Three (W 4-0)

SAGU’s Raul Castro pitched a complete game shut-out for the Lions.  In his seven innings, Castro had six strike-outs while allowing six hits.

The Lions big inning came in the top of the fifth when they scored three runs off of three hits.  They also capitalized off of two Wildcat errors.

At the plate, Castro also had two RBI’s. CJ Bills went one for three, scoring two runs.
Game Four (L 9-6)

Wiley’s Joe Champion picked up the win on the mound for the Wildcats.  SAGU was able to make one final surge in the top of the seventh.  They scored four runs off of three hits.  While scoring more runs looked promising, Wiley turned a well-timed double play to get the first and second out.

SAGU’s Ethan Greiner was two for three at the plate, he had one double, one RBI and one run scored. Chris Wallace went one for four with one RBI as well.

The Lions will begin Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) play on Friday, March 3, 2017.  They will host St. Gregory’s on Friday and Saturday.  Friday’s game begins at 6pm and will be at the Waxahachie Sports Complex.  On Saturday they will play on campus and the doubleheader begins at noon.  SGU is currently 5-5.

Southwestern Assemblies of God University is a private, Christian university located 30 minutes south of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Waxahachie, Texas. The university was established in 1927, and now offers more than 70 associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees on campus or online. More information is available at www.sagu.edu or by calling 1-888-YES-SAGU.
Contact: Natalie Tristan, SAGU SID, [email protected]