Drovers and Rams Split Double-Header in Fort Worth

FORT WORTH, Texas – Sunday afternoon, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (15-9, 2-3 SAC) opened the three-game series with a double-header split at Texas Wesleyan University (15-11, 5-3 SAC). The Drovers opened the day with a 13-9 loss, followed by a 13-4 triumph in the second game.

The Drover offense has been incredibly productive over the team's last five games, tallying 79 hits and 71 runs. Additionally, they have launched 19 home runs in that same span. 

-GAME 1-

The Drovers got off to a hot start, bringing in a pair of runs in the top of the first inning, but the Rams emphatically responded with nine runs in the bottom of the first. 

USAO cut the deficit to 9-7 with five runs in the top of the second inning, highlighted by Ben Bach's grand slam.

Texas Wesleyan added some more insurance with four runs in the bottom of the third and took a 13-7 lead into the fourth. 

The Drovers scored once in the top of the fourth, and their final run came in the top of the seventh on Christopher Matinez's solo-homer. 

As a team, the Drovers compiled 11 hits, as well as reaching on one TWU fielding error and a pair of walks. Meanwhile, the Rams reached the bases on nine hits, four walks, and a pair of USAO fielding errors. 

The USAO offense was led by five multi-hit performances. The top five batters in the Drover lineup went a combined 11-15 (.733), while the bottom four in the order went a combined 0-14.

Gabriel Arroyo concluded 3-4 with a double, three runs scored, and a run batted in. Christopher Martinez concluded 2-3 with a walk, a home run, two runs scored, and a run batted in, while Ben Bach finished 2-4 with a home run and four RBIs.

Peyton McDowall continued to swing a hot-bat, going 2-3 with a walk, a double, a run scored, and two runs batted in. Gage Ninness closed the game 2-4 with a double and a pair of runs scored. 

-GAME 2-

The USAO offense continued to score at an impressive frequency in the second game of the day. The Drovers claimed an early lead with Peyton McDowall's two-run home run in the top of the first inning, followed by one more run in the top of the second. 

USAO extended the lead to 4-0 with one run in the top of the fourth, followed by the Rams scoring their first two runs in the bottom half of the fourth. 

The Drovers captured a 9-2 lead with a five-run rally in the top of the fifth inning, highlighted by McDowall's second home run of the game. The Rams responded with one run in the bottom of the fifth.

The score remained 9-3 until the top of the seventh when the Drovers scored their final four runs of the game on Christopher Martinez's grand slam. Texas Wesleyan scored their final runs in the bottom of the seventh.

As a team, the Drovers compiled 14 hits, as well as reaching on two Texas Wesleyan fielding errors and four walks. Meanwhile, the Rams reached the bases on only five hits, and they drew one walk. 

Four different Drovers recorded multiple hits in the win, led by massive performances from Peyton McDowall and Christopher Martinez. McDowall concluded 2-4 with two home runs, two runs scored, and five runs batted in, while Martinez went 2-5 with a home run, two runs scored, and four runs batted in. 

McDowall current owns a seven-game hit-streak and has gone 16-25 (.640) at the plate, with three doubles, a triple, six home runs, 11 runs scored, and 18 runs batted in during that span. This season, McDowall owns a .373 batting average with nine doubles, nine homers, and 30 RBIs. Additionally, McDowall became the program's all-time RBIs leader, having now driven in 155 runs throughout his impressive career as a Drover. Last week, McDowall became the program's home run leader as well (36).

Martinez also owns a seven-game hit-streak, going 16-28 (.571) with two doubles, five home runs, and 15 RBIs in that span. Martinez currently owns a .392 batting average with six doubles, seven homers, 29 runs scored, and 28 runs batted in.

Devin Alvarez collected a team-high of three hits as he concluded 3-4 with a run scored and three runs batted in. Gage Ninness contributed a 2-5 performance and scored once. 

Gabriel Arroyo finished 1-2 with three walks and three runs scored. 

Ben Bach, Gunnar Hansen, Ian Ortiz, and Ben Lawson each delivered singles in the win.

Brian Ereu improved his record to 5-0 with an impressive 6.0 inning performance. Ereu allowed only three runs on four hits and struck out seven batters. JD Prather closed out the game and struck out one batter in the seventh inning.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Drovers and Rams will wrap up the three-game series on Monday March 18 at noon in Fort Worth, Texas.

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