WAXAHACHIE, Texas - Ben Donnell has pitched in some tough luck this season for the Mid-America Christian University baseball team. That all changed on Thursday night in north Texas.
The MACU (12-20, 6-11 SAC) offense pounded out 16 hits and pushed across 12 runs as the Evangels took a run-rule victory from Southwestern Assemblies of God University (19-22, 5-13 SAC), 12-2.
MACU struck first, and the Evangels scored single runs in each of the first three innings. Diego Pichardo walloped his seventh home run of the season in the first inning, Kevin Lentzner doubled home Raymond Rodriguez in the second, and Luis Sanchez picked up an RBI single in the third that scored Felix Martinez as the Evangels built a 3-0 lead.
After SAGU got on the board in the top of the fourth, Colin Minor tripled to lead off the top of the fourth frame, and he scored when Edgar Martinez belted a fly ball to deep left field that dropped and scored Minor to restore the 3-run lead.
In the sixth inning, MACU broke the game open. Lentzner singled with one out in the inning, and Oliver Fernandez followed with a base hit of his own. Edgar Martinez singled to load the bases, and Pichardo walked to drive in Lentzner and put MACU ahead 5-1. After a pitching change, Felix Martinez drove in two on a single to left-center, and Junior Aracena smashed a 3-run homer to left to put the Evangels ahead 10-1.
The Lions scored a run in the bottom of the sixth, but in the top of the seventh, MACU answered with a pair of tallies. Lentzner started the rally with two out and the bases empty when he singled to right center, and after a balk wiped out what would have been an inning-ending fly out from Fernandez, he doubled into the gap in left-center to drive in Lentzner. Edgar Martinez followed with an RBI single that scored courtesy runner Leo Bejaran to push MACU's lead to 12-2, and Donnell set down the Lions in order in the seventh to preserve the run-rule victory.
Donnell (3-5) allowed two earned runs on six hits and one walk in the complete game victory, and he struck out 10. Dennis Smith (4-2) took the loss, giving up eight runs, seven earned, on 10 hits in five and two-thirds innings.
All nine MACU starters had at least one hit in the game, and eight of the nine scored at least one run. Lentzner was 3-for-4 with a double, Edgar Martinez singled twice with two RBIs, Pichardo singled and homered, Felix Martinez had a single and a double, and Aracena notched a double and a long ball. Pichardo and Felix Martinez each scored two runs and drove in two, Edgar Martinez drove in two runs, Aracena knocked in three, and Lentzner also scored twice.
The teams will wrap up the weekend series with a double header on Friday at 1 p.m.
