RAMS MAKE IT NINE STRAIGHT
March 25, 2008

Box Score - Game One

Box Score - Game Two

FORT WORTH, TX:  The Texas Wesleyan baseball team (20-8) has won nine straight games and twelve of their last thirteen.  On Tuesday, they swept a doubleheader from Oklahoma Christian University (10-16-1) 6-2 and 10-5 at LaGrave Field.

In the first inning of game one, Antoine Cole followed an RBI single from Blake Walker with a three-run homer down the right field line.  The Eagles loaded the bases with no outs in the third.  Tyler Gipson singled home one run, but Brandon Frazier gunned down the trailing runner at the plate from center field to save further damage.

Texas Wesleyan came right back with a two-run single from Ben Kliever to make it 6-1 after three innings.  Oklahoma Christian tacked on a run in the top of the seventh.

Kody Thiebaud (3-0) allowed one run on seven hits while striking out four in five innings of work.  Derek James (1-3) took the loss for the Eagles after allowing six runs on six hits in two plus innings pitched.

Cole went 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored while Kliever was 2-for-3 with 2 RBI in the contest.

In game two, the Eagles jumped ahead with three runs including a two-run double from Tyler Gipson.  The Rams got an RBI single from Butch Ballez in the bottom of the first before exploding in the second inning.

In the second, the Rams scored two runs on seven hits including a two-run double from Zach Smith and a pair of two-run singles from Brad Henderson and Mikey Valdez.

An RBI double from Ballez in the third brought the score to 9-3.  Oklahoma Christian rallied for two runs in the fifth, but Texas Wesleyan added a solo homer from Ballez in the sixth to account for the 10-5 final.

Freshman Brandon Whitley (1-1) picked up his first collegiate win after allowing two runs, one earned on four hits while striking out four in three innings pitched.  Tim Dodd (3-1) was tagged with the loss after allowing five runs on five hits in 1.2 innings.

Ballez, the reining RRAC Player of the Week, was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with a double, home run, stolen base, three RBI and two runs scored.  That made Ballez 5-for-5 on the day and 11-for-11 dating back to Saturday’s doubleheader at Bacone.  Blake Walker added two more of Texas Wesleyan’s 13 hits.

The Rams return to conference play this weekend.  They will host Paul Quinn College in a single game on Friday before Traveling across the Metroplex for a doubleheader in Dallas, TX, on Saturday.  Friday’s game is set for a 3:00 p.m. start at LaGrave Field.