Baseball overwhelms Oakwood in Opening Games
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The defending regular season conference champion Wiley University baseball team pulled away in the fourth inning of a 6-1 Game 1 victory. It struck first and didn't look back in a 10-2 win over Oakwood University in Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference games Friday at John Hunt Park.
The Wildcats (24-13, 16-4 HBCUAC) improved to 12-9 in road games. The victories clinched them a spot in the 2025 Hope Credit Union HBCUAC Baseball Championship, scheduled for April 30-May 4 at Dickey Stephens Park in Little Rock, Arkansas. They will be one of eight teams competing for an automatic berth to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Baseball National Championship Opening Round. In the previous two seasons, all schools competed.
Tied at one in the third inning, Wiley took the lead when Amir Mason led off with a walk, stole two bases and scored on an error. Jalen Porter retired the Ambassadors in order, striking out two batters. Smauri Abram led off the fourth with a triple and scored on a single by Anthony Castaneda. Abel Rodriguez Jr., who reached on a walk and Sental Washington, who courtesy ran for Castaneda pulled off a double steal. Washington scored on Amir Mason's grounder to second. Rodriguez scored on a passed ball, which increased the lead to 5-1.
The Wildcats added a run in the seventh. Jacob Perez led off with a single and scored on Abram's sacrifice fly to left field. Perez went 2-for-4 with a run. Abram was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
For the second consecutive start, Porter was dominant on the mound. He held Oakwood to an unearned run on three hits and struck out 10 - his second straight game with double-digit strikeouts.
In the second game, head coach Kendrick Biggs overhauled his lineup. Ryan Ready was the only starter from the first game, that played in the second. His move paid off. Shortstop Laker McPherson led off with a single and advanced to third on a double by Ajari Camp, who started in center field. Second baseman Armand Daigre drove them in with a double to left. Ready followed with an RBI single. An RBI double by Jaziel Martinez and a run-scoring single by Julian Rosales increased the lead to five.
Oakwood (2-26, 2-15 HBCUAC) answered with a run on three hits. Ready led off the third with a double, stole third and scored on an error. Brendan Mendoza led off the fourth by being hit by a pitch. Washington scored on a double by McPherson. Wiley added insurance runs in the seventh. Kai Woodard walked with one out and Martinez followed with a single. Tyson Minter brought both home with a triple to center field. He got thrown out attempting to score on a passed ball.
Mendoza extended the inning with a walk. Washington stole second and third and scored on a throwing error. McPherson went 3-for-4 with a run and RBI. Camp went 3-for-4 with a run. Ready recorded two hits, two runs and an RBI. Martinez went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.
Isaac Burciaga won his fifth start. He limited the Ambassadors to two runs and struck out eight. Burciaga faced runners on the corners with one out in the third but got a groundout and a flyout to end the inning. Oakwood rallied in the sixth to load the bases with two outs, but Burciaga ended the threat with a strikeout.
The series concludes at 7:15 p.m. tomorrow.
For more coverage on the Wildcats visit https://wileyathletics.com/sports/bsb/index
About Wiley University Athletics
Wiley University sponsors 12 varsity sports: women's volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's indoor track and field, men's and women's outdoor track and field and baseball. It competes in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) and the Continental Athletic Conference for men's and women's soccer.
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