Baseball Midseason Report Card: Ups and Downs

It's been a roller coaster ride so far for the 2010 Scorpion baseball team.

Before the season started, the pieces were in place for the Scorpions to have a breakthrough season, post a winning record, and make a serious run at the Red River Athletic Conference championship.

A lot of things have not gone as expected so far in an 8-14 season. The good news is there is still a lot of baseball to be played this year, and don't be surprised to see good things happen.

Opening Day
The 2010 season started out just like the 2009 season -- with a victory. Young coach Bryan Aughney is 2-0 all-time on Opening Day.

It was the third straight year that Wayland Baptist had come south from the Texas Panhandle to open the season for both teams. The Pioneers were one win away from advancing to the NAIA National Tournament last year.

For the second straight year, the Scorpions started out with an impressive win at home over Wayland Baptist University behind the pitching of Julian Moya. But for the second straight year, the Scorpions lost the next three games to WBU in the four-game series.

Unfortunately, this would be the first of too many 1-3 series.

Unfortunately, the Scorpions lost two games by one run and the other by three runs. This would also be the first of too many of those.

Walk-Off Wonder During Super Bowl
The 2010 Scorpions then righted the ship the following weekend and posted their first historical "first" of the year. UTB/TSC hosted The University of Houston-Victoria for four games at Scorpion Field. Everything fell right and the Scorpions swept the Jaguars, marking the first four-game sweep for the Scorpions since the inception of the NAIA era in 2006-07.

The Scorpions won two close games by two runs each. They showed comeback ability in the third game of the series on Super Bowl Sunday, coming back from a 3-2 deficit to score three runs in their final two innings for a 5-3 win.

The next game of the doubleheader had bad and good news. UTB/TSC had a 5-1 lead that would become 5-3 going into the final inning. The Jaguars struck for three runs in the top of the ninth to take a 6-5 lead.

Losing a lead late in the game would be another bad sign of things to come.

But the good news was that the Scorpions responded. UTB/TSC scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to send the game into extra innings -- much to the chagrin of fans there who realized the Super Bowl was now in the second quarter.

In the bottom of the eighth, Matt Warner would end any further drama with a walk-off two-run homer, the stuff that dreams are made of.

UTB/TSC was now 5-3 after the sweep and feeling pretty good about the season. Aughney was hopeful that the Scorpions would stay above the .500 mark from here on out.

The 5-3 start also came after the first eight games of the season at home. The next 15 would be on the road.

The Start of a Long Series of Road Games
The next four would against UHV again, this time in Victoria. In the first game, the Scorpions led 3-2 going in the bottom the seventh, and lost 4-3. In the nightcap of the doubleheader, the Scorpions and Jags were tied 2-2 after seven and went into extra innings. UTB/TSC scored three runs for a seemingly comfortable lead. But the Jags came back to win, 6-5.

Thus, two more one-run losses, making it four of the five losses thus far. The next two games were not as dramatic. UHV won the first, 14-3, and the Scorpions broke through to win the nightcap, 12-8.

UTB/TSC stood at 6-6. Again, the Scorpions went 1-3 in the series.

Visiting the Defending National Champions
Then came a 12-hour bus ride to mighty Lubbock Christian University, the defending national champion. LCU was off to a slow start with only a 5-4 record at the time. The Chaps were ranked No. 1 in the NAIA preseason poll, and will be No. 1 until the first regular season poll comes out March 30. {Many teams in the country with snow on the ground still have not played baseball yet this season.}

It was the first time a Scorpion team had ever played a No. 1 team in NAIA baseball. The Scorpion women's volleyball team has faced the same No. 1 team twice -- Fresno Pacific University -- in the NAIA National Women's Volleyball quarterfinals in 2007 and 2009, and lost both times.

Aughney had the Scorpion loose after getting off to a 6-6 start. The Scorpions had great respect for LCU, but no fear.

The Chaps were in control for the first six innings. LCU had held the Scorpions to only three hits and led, 4-0, going into the top of the seventh. The first Scorpion flied out to start the seventh.

Then the rally that came from nowhere started. Nobody realized what was about to happen.

Matt Ginn singled, Ignacio Celedon singled, and Miguel Garcia singled to load the bases. Walter Blume then doubled home two runs, and it was 4-2. Jorge Camorlinga followed with another double, and now the game was tied, 4-4. Warner singled, and the Scorpions led 5-4. The inning ended on a double-play ball, but the damage was done.

LCU trailed the Scorpions at home, 5-4. But unlike other late inning rallies that the Scorpions witnessed, this one had to finish positively for the Scorpions. Danny Gidora made sure it did. He retired the Chaps in order in the bottom of the seventh, and UTB/TSC had recorded its first win over a No. 1 team in any sport.

Since the Scorpion win, LCU has been on a roll, winning 11 of the next12, and is now 16-6 for the year.

Bats Go Silent
The momentum from the dramatic win did not carry over. The Scorpions played well, but did not score a run in the next three games against the Chaps. UTB/TSC was shut out in three straight games by LCU, 10-0, 7-0 and 4-0 -- another first for the Scorpions in the NAIA era.

That makes three series out of four that have ended up at 1-3. UTB/TSC was 7-9.

Next was a four-game series up the Rio Grande Valley against two NCAA Division I teams -- UT-Pan American and Prairie View A&M University. The first game would be the Broncs' season opener.

UTB/TSC played twice in 2009, with the Broncs winning both times. In this series, the Scorpions were actually in all four games.

Another Record-Breaking Game
After a scoreless first inning, the fireworks began in the bottom of the second. UTPA went ahead, 3-0, and the Scorpions fought back with five runs to make it 5-3. UTPA then matched it with five of its own to take 8-5 lead. The Scorpions cut it to 8-7 in its next at-bat.

Then the roof came crashing down. UTPA scored 10 runs to take an 18-7 lead. The Broncs made it 19-7. The Scorpions came back with four runs to make it 19-11 ... wow 30 runs in this game!

UTPA scored four more and it was 23-11, and UTB/TSC followed with six runs in the top of the eighth to make it 23-17.

The game ended that way, breaking numerous records. There were 40 runs, 34 hits, and 20 walks. The game took four hours to complete. Coaches don't like games like this.

More Drama at Edinburg  Baseball Stadium
Against Prairie View A&M the first time, the late-inning rally reared its ugly head again. The Scorpions led, 4-1, going into the eighth. PV came back to tie it 4-4, going into the bottom the ninth. A safe call at first base on an apparent swipe tag went against the Scorpions. The next PV batter doubled into deep left-center, ending the game with a Panthers' 5-4 win.

This was one-run loss No. 5.

As the home team the next day, it was the Scorpions' turn to rally. With the game tied after six innings, 8-8, UTB/TSC scored three times in the seventh and eighth for an 11-8 win. Ginn belted two homers and Brian Bustos one.

The day would mark the first time ever UTB/TSC was scheduled to play 18 innings in one day, because the Scorpions were playing under NCAA rules against two different teams.

Nobody knew how much gas was still left in the Scorpion tank, but there was some.

UTPA had a 4-3 lead after four innings before a Scorpion six-run uprising. UTB/TSC led UTPA, 9-4, leaving everyone at Edinburg Baseball Stadium stunned.

But the Broncs battled back, and got their own six-run rally in the bottom of the eighth for a 13-9 win. Another late-inning rally doomed the Scorpions.

The Scorpions were now 8-12. It was the fourth time that a weekend four-game series ended at 1-3.

Three More Road Games against NCAA Teams
UTB/TSC's next game would be at the most beautiful facility of the season -- Dell Diamond in Round Rock, home of the Round Rock Express, the Class AAA affiliate of the Houston Astros.

The opener was another late-inning rally by the opponent. After UTB/TSC led, 4-2, after four innings, the Tornados scored three in the fifth and two in the sixth to take a 6-4 lead. The Scorpions scored one in the seventh and left the tying run at third base in a 6-5 loss.

The loss was the sixth by one run.

Concordia won the second game of the doubleheader, 8-5, leaving the Scorpions with an 8-14 record. A 14-5 loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi left the Scorpions with an 8-15 record to finish the 15-game road streak.

The Scorpions have been outscored by their opponents, 168-138. The Scorpions have done a good job starting out games, outscoring their opponents, 24-10.

Home Sweet Home
The Scorpions are home for nine straight games within a six-day stretch from March 13-18, for what has become a Spring Break bonanza.

The Scorpions will be glad for some home cooking and get back to their winning ways.