RAMS MOVE TO 2ND IN THE RRAC NORTH
April 27, 2006

FORT WORTH, TX: The Texas Wesleyan University baseball team (28-19, 10-5 RRAC) scored 31 runs on 28 hits in a doubleheader with Paul Quinn College (3-19, 1-14) on Thursday.  With a pair of conference wins (13-0 and 18-1) in the regular season finale, the Rams moved ahead of College of the Southwest for the second position in the Red River Athletic Conference’s North Division.

In a game one route, the Rams scored in the first when Jason Diaz drew a leadoff walk, stole second, and later scored on a Zach Archer groundout.  In the third inning, the Rams took advantage of two Tigers errors, adding four singles to plate five more runs.

Meanwhile, Weston Wood faced the minimum through three innings before Justin Johnson broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff single in the fourth. 

In the bottom of the fourth, the floodgates opened.  Texas Wesleyan sent ten men to the plate and scored seven runs in an inning highlighted by a two-run homer from Josh Vander Hey.

Weston Wood (7-2) worked all five innings for the win.  Wood allowed just two hits while striking out five.

Chris Palmer went 3-3 at the plate with a pair of doubles.  Vander Hey and Travis Clifford each recorded 3 RBI in the contest.

In game two, Antoine Cole and JR Phelps led off the game with consecutive singles.  Josh Vander Hey then reached on an error and all three eventually came around to score.

Paul Quinn made it 3-1 with an unearned tally in the second, but two Tigers errors gave that run back in the third inning.  In the fourth, the Rams sent seventeen men to the plate and scored twelve runs on twelve hits.  The frame was highlighted by doubles from Ross Elmore, JR Phelps, Antoine Cole, Josh Vander Hey, and Kent Russell, and back-to-back home runs from Travis Clifford and Jeff Piaskowski.

Texas Wesleyan added RBI singles from Cole and Vander Hey in the fifth for the 18-1 final.  In the sixth, Shea Harrison came to the plate as a pinch hitter and ripped his first career hit, a sharp single into center field.

Caleb Thomas (3-4) earned the win after allowing one unearned run on three hits in five innings pitched.

Cole led the Rams at the plate by going 4-6 with three runs scored and two RBI.  Vander Hey and Russell each drove in four while Clifford finished with three RBI.

The Rams will play an exhibition game against the defending CBL Champion Fort Worth Cats on Monday before the conference tournament starts next week.  That exhibition game is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. at LaGrave Field.