RAMS SPLIT WITH STARS
March 4, 2006

FORT WORTH, TX:  Fans at Sycamore Park saw plenty of good pitching on Saturday, as the Texas Wesleyan University baseball team (5-4) split a doubleheader with Oklahoma City University (9-5).  The Rams took game one 1-0, but fell 6-1 in game two.

Oklahoma City was ranked #1 in the NAIA preseason poll, but dropped out of the top 25 in this week’s poll in spite of a three-game sweep of Texas Wesleyan last weekend in Oklahoma City.

In game one, the Rams pitted Shea Harrison to a 1-0 lead in the first when Jason Diaz and Josh Vander Hey hit consecutive singles and Travis Clifford followed with an RBI single.  That was plenty of support for the senior southpaw who allowed just one base runner in a complete-game one-hit shutout.

Harrison (2-0), struckout two and walked none while allowing only a second-inning single in seven innings of work.  The performance lowered his ERA to 0.34 on the season.  Jeff McLaughlin took the loss after allowing one run on five hits in six innings pitched.

In game two, Jason Hopson held the Stars scoreless through four, but, in the fifth, the Stars sent nine men to the plate, scoring three runs.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma City’s Jeff McAllister was perfect through four.  In the fifth, Travis Clifford and Zach Archer led off with consecutive singles, but the Rams left them stranded at the corners.

In the sixth, Brandon Frazier reached on a leadoff single and got the Rams on the board when he scored from second on a single from Jason Diaz.  Oklahoma City responded with three runs in the seventh to take a 6-1 lead with a rally highlighted by a two rune home run off the bat of Scott Mitchell.

McAllister worked seven innings and allowed one run on four hits to earn the win.  Hopson (1-2) took the loss after allowing three runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings of work.

The Rams return to Sycamore Park on Monday, March 6, when they host Huston-Tillotson University.  Game one of that doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.