Baseball Falls in Close Series at League-Leading OKWU

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Facing their toughest test of the 2024 season to date, Avila baseball (13-14, 9-6 KCAC) made the trek out to Oklahoma this weekend to face off with Oklahoma Wesleyan, presently the KCAC's top team. The homestanding Eagles won all three games, but the visiting Eagles put up an excellent fight in two of them, which should help Avila continue to build on its excellent start to the season.

OKWU did not appear in the NAIA coaches' poll before the start of the season, but have vaulted all the way up to No. 17 in the NAIA after their strong start. It's clear that those Eagles were the strongest team the Avila Eagles have faced so far this season, and they could well be the strongest team they face for the rest of the season. That remains to be seen, but it's clear at this point that this was overall not a negative series for Avila despite a trio of losses.

Avila planned to go into the series opener on the OKWU campus on Friday with the pitching staff fully stocked. Nearly all of Avila's top arms to this point in the season were available to throw in one capacity or another, but Avila only had to use two of them – Cashen Schranz and Alex Walton – because the two of them pitched so well.

Oklahoma Wesleyan scored a single run in the first, third, and fifth innings off Schranz – though only one was earned. Schranz finished the day allowing five hits over 6.1 innings with five strikeouts and three walks in an outing that head coach Matt Carpenter described as "his best of the season so far." Walton then entered and retired the five batters he faced to keep the visitors right there in striking distance.

Unfortunately, Oklahoma Wesleyan ace Evan Foor, who hasn't always pitched well against Avila over the years, was on his game on this day. Foor allowed only four hits – though two of those were triples from Zach Dillman and JJ Stubblefield – with six strikeouts over nine full innings. Avila managed only one run off him in the fourth when a Tyler King groundout plated Dillman, but Avila could score no more in a nail-biting 3-1 defeat in game one.

The teams then reconvened on Saturday afternoon for a pair of games at a local former professional stadium where OKWU plays a fair number of games. Saturday's first game was supposed to go nine innings and the second one seven, but, ironically, those scripts ended up getting flipped: OKWU mashed its way to a seven-inning victory in game two before rallying for an extra-innings win in game three.

It was clear on Saturday that Oklahoma Wesleyan's offense is certainly potent, which made what Avila achieved on Friday that much more impressive. Avila scored the first run of the day in the top of the first inning on a run-scoring hit from Dillman, but OKWU erupted for five in the second inning to seize the lead, and they never gave it up.

Avila battled back when King worked a bases-loaded walk in the third and Ricky Dober doubled home two runs in the fourth, lifting the visitors back to within 6-4. But a fifth-inning grand slam from Victor Sanchez, his second homer of the game, was just the beginning: Oklahoma Wesleyan scored the final ten runs of the game to prevail 16-4 and end things early.

The series victory was secured for the home squad, but the visiting Eagles did all they could to avoid suffering a series sweep, their first in league play this season. In a true back-and-forth slugfest, at least one team scored in eight of the nine innings played, and both teams scored in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings. The squads combined for 31 runs on 27 hits in a game that ultimately was decided on the final hit of the night.

OKWU got off to a roaring start thanks to a leadoff homer from Ravaughn Morgan that kicked off a five-run first. Avila pulled two back in the second off a two-run knock from King before Oklahoma Wesleyan got those two runs right back with a pair of solo homers with the wind swirling. Undeterred, the visiting Eagles convened to put together their biggest inning of the weekend in the third: Landon Vahle scored a run and drove in another, Ricky Dober drove in two, and each of King, Ronnie Nowak and Stubblefield drew bases-loaded walks as part of a six-run frame to give Avila the lead for the first time all weekend.

Morgan eliminated that lead immediately with a run-scoring double in the home half of the third, but just as quickly, Avila snatched the lead right back thanks to a two-run homer from Dillman in the fourth. That lead was once again short-lived thanks to a matching two-run homer from Josh Logan in the home half, but once again the Eagles punched back: Bryce Culp drew another bases-loaded walk ahead of a two-run hit from Gio Armas, and Avila led 13-10 in the fifth.

Oklahoma Wesleyan was not done. Javier Marcial drove in two in the fifth and Morgan struck again with a two-run shot in the sixth to give the home team the lead again in a scheduled seven-inning contest. With no time remaining, Avila needed one more rally, and the Eagles came through: Dillman drew yet another bases-loaded walk forcing in Stubblefield and tying the score at 14 apiece. Avila was unable to add on to that, however, and that proved costly: after two-plus scoreless innings of relief from Dominic Davies, Brenden Poindexter stepped in and delivered a pinch-hit, game-winning three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth off Zach Zwicky to wrap up a wild 17-14 win in nine innings.

Up next, Avila returns home to The Z for a full week of home games after two weekends away. First, Avila will play its first true midweek game of the season when the Eagles welcome in York for the first game of a midweek home-and-home series on Tuesday, with first pitch scheduled for 1 PM. Avila is then right back at The Z for a three-game set against (RV) Friends, with action beginning at 2 PM on Friday. As always, you can watch all the action live and for free on the Avila Sports Network.