HUSKIES TOP RAMS IN TITLE GAME
May 6, 2006

HOUSTON, TX:  The Texas Wesleyan University baseball team (31-21) was defeated 10-5 by Houston Baptist (39-14-1) in the Red River Athletic Conference Championship game on Saturday.  The win lifted the Huskies to their third consecutive Red River title.

By reaching the final, both teams have automatically qualified for next week’s NAIA Region VI Tournament in Plainview, TX.

Houston Baptist scored five runs on five hits in the second inning and took advantage of two Texas Wesleyan errors to score three more in the fourth.  That led the Huskies to a commanding 9-1 lead entering the fifth inning.

In the fifth, the Rams rallied with a leadoff home run from Ross Elmore and a two-run shot from Travis Clifford later in the inning.  In the sixth, the Josh Vander Hey ripped a leadoff triple and Jeremy Howard scored pinch runner JR Phelps with an RBI single.

Unfortunately for the Rams, Billy Miskell came on and closed out the game with four scoreless innings to earn the save.

Aaron Lenz fell to 0-2 with the loss after allowing nine runs, six earned, on nine hits in four innings.  Zac Schiefen earned the win by allowing five runs, four earned, on eight hits in five innings pitched.

Jeremy Howard went 3-3 in the loss.  Zach Archer and Josh Vander Hey each recorded a pair of hits in the contest.