Thursday, April 2

Fort Worth, Texas - Texas Wesleyan built its cushion early and held off a late push from College of the Ozarks for a 5-2 win Thursday.. The decisive stretch came in the second inning, when Texas Wesleyan scored three times, and the Bobcats never fully recovered despite trimming the deficit to two runs in the seventh.

Texas Wesleyan opened the scoring in the second when Idelfonso Garcia singled to center to bring home Jonathan Pena. Jose Rangel followed with a two-run single to right, driving in Dryon Dixon and Garcia for a 3-0 lead. That inning proved to be the difference for College of the Ozarks, which was held scoreless through the first six innings while Texas Wesleyan starter Jose Casado kept the Bobcats from putting together a sustained rally.

Texas Wesleyan added to the lead in the fifth. Rangel tripled down the right-field line, then scored on a double by Brendon Vela to make it 4-0. College of the Ozarks broke through in the seventh, turning its best offensive sequence of the afternoon into two runs. Broden Mabe delivered the key swing, a triple to right-center that drove in both runs and cut the margin to 4-2.

The Bobcats finished with seven hits, no errors and five runners left on base. Mabe accounted for both RBIs and added a walk in a productive day at the plate. College of the Ozarks also drew three walks and stole one base, but Texas Wesleyan answered the seventh-inning push with an insurance run in the eighth, when Garcia singled to right-center to score Aidan Vega and restore the three-run advantage.

Brody Baumann went the distance on the mound for College of the Ozarks, pitching eight innings and allowing five earned runs on 12 hits while striking out one. Casado earned the win for Texas Wesleyan after working seven innings, giving up six hits and two earned runs with four strikeouts. Noah Huerta closed out the game and recorded the save as Texas Wesleyan finished with 12 hits and kept the Bobcats off the board over the final two innings.

Friday, April 3

The Bobcats bounce back to split a Friday doubleheader at Texas Wesleyan, riding a dominant pitching performance from Cameron Jennings to a 5-0 win in the opener before dropping the second game 12-6..

The Bobcats set the tone early in the first game. Chandler Eubanks delivered the decisive swing in the top of the first inning, lining a two-run single to right to put College of the Ozarks ahead 2-0. That lead was more than enough for Jennings, who worked a complete-game shutout over seven innings. He allowed just three hits, struck out five and kept Texas Wesleyan off the scoreboard throughout the opener. The Bobcats finished with seven hits, did not commit an error and stranded only four runners.

College of the Ozarks added separation in the sixth. Brody Baumann lifted a sacrifice fly to right for one run, and Craig Busse followed later in the inning with a two-run single to extend the margin to 5-0. Busse turned in one of the Bobcats' strongest offensive games of the day, collecting two hits, including a double, and driving in two runs. Jennings handled the rest, closing out the shutout as Texas Wesleyan managed only three total hits.

The second game turned quickly against the Bobcats. Texas Wesleyan broke through with a four-run second inning, then effectively decided the game with a seven-run third to build an 11-2 lead. College of the Ozarks answered briefly in the third when Busse tripled and Brody Tyler drove in a run, but the early deficit proved too large. Texas Wesleyan totaled 13 hits in the seven-inning game, while the Bobcats were limited to three hits and were charged with three errors.

College of the Ozarks still showed some late fight in the seventh. The Bobcats pushed across four runs in the final inning, trimming the margin to 12-6. @Landon Jines reached on an error that brought home two runs during the rally, giving the visitors one last surge after being held in check for much of the afternoon. Busse again supplied one of the top offensive moments with a triple and a run scored, while @George Reynolds struck out two in his outing on the mound.

The split gave the Bobcats one of their sharper pitching efforts of the season in the opener and a reminder of how quickly a game can swing in the second half of a doubleheader. Jennings' complete-game shutout stood as the day's best performance, and the Bobcats backed it with timely hitting from Eubanks, Busse and Baumann before Texas Wesleyan's big middle innings carried the nightcap.