[Baseball] Puga Keys Baseball Falcons' Split with MidAmerica Nazarene
WICHITA, Kan. – The Friends University Falcons won the second game of a doubleheader 17-8 to split a pair of games with the MidAmerica Nazarene University Pioneers today (Mar 11) at Westurban Baseball Complex in Wichita. In the first game, the Pioneers rallied from three runs down to win 6-4.
Troy Puga (JR/Pueblo, Colo.) powered the Falcons' game two victory, hitting a career-high two homers, including a grand slam in a six-run fourth inning. Dauson Tate (JR/Pueblo, Colo.) also drove in two of his three runs with his first-career homer, a two-run blast in the inning that put the Falcons up 10-1.
But the Pioneers made things interesting with seven unanswered runs, scoring a run in the fifth before producing a six-run sixth frame on three hits.
The Falcons though finally put things away, bettering the Pioneers' big inning by one with seven runs in the bottom of the sixth on the benefit of only two hits. Emilio Navarro (SR/Porterville, Calif. ) doubled and scored in the inning and Emilio Escamilla hit an infield single to score Tate.
RJ Gaines (SR/Mansfield, Ark. ), who got the final out of the sixth, retired the Pioneers in order in the seventh to close out the win and notch the save.
Puga drove in a career-best six runs in the nightcap victory, with his first homer of the game being a solo shot in the first inning.
Escamilla also had three hits for Friends, with Tate, Navarro and Ricardo Paris (JR/Barquisimeto, Valenzuela) each recording a pair of hits.
Braden Anderson (JR/Coffeyville, Kan.) was credited with his first career win after pitching a spotless fourth inning out of the bullpen. Jacob Coogan (FR/Broomfield, Colo.) was the second game starter for the Falcons and blanked the Pioneers with two strikeouts.
The opening tilt saw the Falcons carry a 4-0 lead into the fifth inning, only to have the Pioneers score the next six runs of the game, including consecutive solo homers by Joshuan Sandoval and Jeremie Gonzalez in the seventh that proved to be the game-winning tallies.
Paris singled home Gilbert Valenzuela (SO/Hereford, Ariz. ) in the first inning that gave the Falcons the lead and Isiah Perez (JR/Larned, Kan. ) finished a three-run third with a two-run single.
The Falcons got two hits from Paris in the second game, while Chase Robinson went 3-of-4 for the Pioneers with a two-run home run.
Bobby Stewart (JR/Naples, Fla. ) started for the Falcons (9-15) and pitched three scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts. Landon Aggas (FR/Trophy Club, Texas) and Matt Contreras (JR/Friant, Calif. ) also had scoreless relief outings for the Falcons.
Nick Barker got the win for the Pioneers (5-5) by striking out four in pitching a scoreless sixth and seventh frame.
The Falcons will next play a three-game KCAC series against Ottawa University, starting with a single game Friday afternoon (Mar. 15) at 2 pm in Ottawa, Kan.