RAMS ADVANCE TO CHAMPIONSHIP
May 5, 2006

HOUSTON, TX:  The Texas Wesleyan University baseball team (31-21) dropped a 10-3 decision to 15th ranked and top seeded Houston Baptist on Friday morning in the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament.  However, the Rams came back to take a 10-2 win over Bacone.  That win not only gives Texas Wesleyan a rematch with Houston Baptist in tomorrow’s championship, but clinches a berth in next week’s NAIA Region VI Tournament as well.

Against the Huskies, the Rams took a 2-1 lead into the fifth inning after a Zach Archer RBI single in the first and an RBI groundout from Ross Elmore in the second.  The Huskies then scored four runs on five hits in the fifth to take a 5-2 edge.

They later broke the game open with three in the seventh and two more in the eighth.

Shea Harrison fell to 6-4 after allowing eight runs, seven earned, on 14 hits in seven innings of work.  Michael Bryant (5-4) earned the win after scattering 12 hits in a complete game effort.

Brandon Frazier and Travis Clifford each went 3-4 for the Rams while Archer and Elmore finished with two hits each.

The Rams bounced back from that loss to face a Bacone team that they had beaten 20-7 yesterday.  Today’s game was not as smooth as that blow out, but ended with a similar 10-2 result.

Antoine Cole’s sacrifice fly in the sixth gave the Rams a narrow 3-2 lead.  In the seventh, Texas Wesleyan used a two-run triple from Josh Vander Hey and an RBI single from Chris Palmer to move ahead 6-2.

In the bottom of the seventh, Bacone threatened to get right back into the contest with runners at the corners, but Texas Wesleyan right fielder Antoine Cole raced into the gap and made a spectacular diving catch on Blake Kastl’s line drive to end the inning.

The Rams then delivered a knockout punch with four runs on four hits in the eighth.

Jason Hopson (6-4) earned the win by tossing eight innings and allowing two runs (one earned) on nine hits while striking out four. 

Frazier and Vander Hey each went 3-5 in the contest while Archer and Clifford each recorded a pair of hits.