Baseball Begins Carpenter Era with Series at SAGU

WAXAHACHIE, Texas – Avila baseball officially began the Matt Carpenter era of the program by traveling down to Texas to face off with Southwestern Assemblies of God for the second time in the last three seasons. Two of the four games were close and needed extra innings to decide, but the Eagles (1-3) managed to win only one of the four against the Lions (3-1) in both teams' first action of the 2023 campaign.

The series was planned to consist of two 7-inning doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday, but two of the four games needed longer than that to decide. Fortunately for the Eagles, the weather cooperated more than the last time the team traveled to Texas in 2021, resulting in two full days of baseball to begin the 2023 campaign.

SAGU got the scoring started in Game 1 of the series Friday with a 2-run double from Justin Delossantos in the second inning. Landon Vahle was a sparkplug for the Eagle offense at the top of the order all weekend long, and he helped Avila stay in the game by coming around to score all three of the team's runs. SAGU ultimately pulled away by scoring five runs in the fifth inning before Seth Kilbourn entered and retired all four batters he faced to end the threat. Still, that five-spot was enough to power the Lions to a 7-3 win. Vahle finished 3-for-4 with two doubles, two steals and three runs scored.

The Eagles quickly returned to the field Friday for Game 2 of the series and witnessed a true pitcher's duel between Ethan Nors and Keaton Ashby. The Lions struck once off Ashby in the second with a Delossantos base knock and the Eagles struck once off Nors in the fifth when Jacob Nevels singled home Brandon Bacon to tie the score. Other than that, both starters were outstanding over seven innings of one-run ball.

Game 2 moved on to the eighth inning, where Dominic Davies worked around a little traffic to issue a scoreless frame. Ricky Dober then reached on an error in the ninth and got to second base. Bacon once again pinch ran for him, and Garrett Kalm was hit by a pitch in his Avila debut. Both runners successfully stole, giving the Eagles two runners in scoring position, and an error by the Lion third baseman allowed Bacon to come home and score the go-ahead run.

That was all the margin Gaven Mooney needed for Avila. Mooney issued a two-out walk but otherwise shut down the top of the SAGU order, preserving the 2-1 victory for the Eagles and earning his first career save. Davies got the win in relief, while Ashby took a no decision with a final line of 7 innings, 7 hits, 5 strikeouts, 2 walks and 1 earned run allowed.

Both teams brought the offensive firepower to the field for Game 3 of the series on Saturday. SAGU scored three unearned runs in the third to grab an early lead, but Avila staged a massive rally in the middle innings. Kurt Trotter singled home Vahle in the fourth to get the Eagles on the board and then anchored a four-run fifth with a two-run knock. Nevels plated Bryce Culp in the sixth, expanding Avila's lead to 6-3.

But the Lions were not done. First baseman Alejandro Garcia hit a two-run home run in the sixth and drove in the tying run in the bottom of the seventh, leveling the score at six apiece, before leadoff hitter Bryson Collins drove in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth to give SAGU a heartbreaking 7-6 win. Trotter and Nevels combined for four hits and four RBI for the Eagles.

After two straight one-run extra-inning games, the Lions took care of business in Game 4 to secure the series. SAGU scored in each of the first three innings, including a four-spot in the third, to open up a large early lead. Avila pushed back in the sixth when Trotter doubled in Nevels and Paxton Andrade singled in Dober, but that was as close as the Eagles could get in a 7-2 SAGU win. Chance Moore and Nick Bowers both issued scoreless innings in their Avila debuts.

Longtime Avila assistant Matt Carpenter earned his victory as head coach of the Eagles over the weekend, and now he and his team will prepare for their first home series of the 2023 season coming up this weekend at The Z. The Eagles will welcome in Grand View for a three-game series on Saturday, February 4 and Sunday, February 5; action begins at noon on both days and all games will be streamed live on the Avila Sports Network.