RIDDLE TOSSES ONE-HITTER:

RAMS ADVANCE
May 10, 2007

Box Score

HOUSTON, TX:  The 13th ranked Texas Wesleyan University baseball team (41-9) rode a complete game one-hit shutout performance from Ryan Riddle to advance to the NAIA Region VI Tournament’s final day.  The Rams defeated Southern Nazarene University (35-21) by a final score of 7-0.

The Rams threatened in the bottom of the second when they loaded the bases with one out; however, SNU’s starter Seth Merchant retired two of the next three hitters and left the bases loaded.

Riddle held the Storm hitless until Cody White led off the fourth inning with a single to left.  SNU put runners at second and third in the fourth, but Riddle recorded back-to-back strikeouts to get out of the inning.

In the bottom of the fourth, Antoine Cole led off with a single and later scored when Taylor Miller laid down a suicide squeeze.  With two outs in the inning Brad Henderson just slid under the tag at the plate, scoring from second on a single from Jason Diaz and bringing the score to 2-0 in favor of Texas Wesleyan.

Merchant stranded another runner in scoring position in the fifth to hold the score at 2-0.

Southern Nazarene took a hit when Brent Hardin, who entered the tournament hitting .430 on the year, was ejected for arguing a called second strike in the top of the sixth.

The Rams finally broke through against Merchant in the bottom of the sixth.  With two outs, Josh Vander Hey drew a bases loaded walk, and Billie Hicks followed with a two-run single that chased the SNU starter from the game.

Diaz added a two-run double that gave the Rams a 7-0 advantage in the seventh.  A pair of tremendous catches down the right field line, the first from right fielder Ryan Jacobi and the second from second baseman Ross Elmore, kept Southern Nazarene off the scoreboard in the eighth.

Riddle (9-0) allowed one hit and four walks while striking out seven in the complete game win.

Josh Vander Hey went 3-for-4 for the Rams.  Jason Diaz drove in three while going 2-for-4 at the plate.  Jacobi and Cole each collected a pair of hits for the Rams as well.

Texas Wesleyan will play Houston Baptist at 12:00 p.m. in Friday.  If Houston Baptist defeats Lubbock Christian in this afternoon’s contest, Friday’s game will be the tournament final, and Texas Wesleyan would have to defeat the Huskies twice to take the title.  If Lubbock Christian defeats HBU, Friday’s game would be a semifinal contest with the winner playing LCU in a winner-take-all final at 4:00 p.m.