The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference leader Wiley University baseball team entered the ninth inning down by nine. It owned the moment and didn’t let it go. Amir Mason sparked a rally to tie the game, Eddie Garza reached base in the 10th and delivered the winning run in an 11-10 victory over Texas A&M University-Texarkana Tuesday at Airport Park.
The Wildcats (18-14, 12-0 GCAC) finished 11-6 at home, which is their most home wins since 2019 and highest home win percentage since 2010. It’s their fourth walk-off victory. The win is the second against the Eagles, extending Wiley’s winning streak to four games.
Mason led off the ninth with a single to right and stole second. Tyson Minter walked and Brendan Mendoza was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Abel Rodriguez brought home Mason and Minter with a double to right. After Eddie Garza walked, Jacob Perez drove in two with a single down the right field line and took second on the throw. Ryan Ready pulled Wiley within two with a three-run home run, his sixth of the season.
Jhan Carlos Javier walked. With two outs, Tyson Minter hit a double to right, advancing Orenthal Lewis, who pinch-ran for Javier to third. Mendoza stroked the ball into shallow left field, but Texarkana’s catcher didn’t hold on to the throw, allowing Minter to slide in for the tying run. The Eagles, who used a different pitcher in the third through eighth innings, needed three to get out of the ninth inning.
Josiah Jackson pitched the 10th and didn’t allow anyone to reach base. Garza led off with a walk and advanced on a wild pitch. Perez moved him to third with a sacrifice bunt. With Ready batting, a pitch went over the catcher’s ahead and allowed Garza to run home.
Mason recorded three hits and scored two runs. Mendoza drove in three runs. Along with his game-tying two-RBI singe, he hit a sacrifice fly to plate the Wildcats’ first run in the seventh.
Nick Rodriguez started and went four innings. Only one of the three runs, he allowed was earned. Daniel Cox pitched two innings. Jalen Porter and Keyon Guillory threw the seventh. Isaac Burciaga pitched the eighth and Marquis Kuykendall tossed the ninth.
The Wildcats will resume GCAC play at Talladega College with a three-game series on Saturday and Sunday. The Tornadoes are second in the conference with a 9-2 GCAC record. They swept a doubleheader against Tougaloo College.
Source: Wiley University Athletic Department