For the Crusaders, it was worth the wait.
Coming off last year’s inaugural appearance in the conference tournament - and one week later than its scheduled season opener - UMHB finally got under way with a 10-7 victory over Texas Wesleyan on Wednesday afternoon at Red Murff Field.
The Crusaders had been stymied by weather in three previous attempts to play but seemed to pick up where they left off last April, when they earned their first berth in the American Southwest Conference Tournament.
“We’ve been building confidence all through the offseason and during intrasquad scrimmages, but we hadn’t been able to show it because of the weather,” junior starting pitcher R.B. Garza said. “It’s kind of too bad for Texas Wesleyan, but we had to take it out on somebody.”
Garza was unforgiving on the mound as the Crusaders jumped on the Rams (2-4) early. He allowed only two hits to go with five strikeouts and no walks during four innings of work.
“R.B. takes the offseason very seriously and it shows in his performance,” UMHB coach Micah Wells said. “He’s a centerpiece of what we’re doing here.”
If Garza is a centerpiece, fellow All-ASC West Division player Joseph Villegas is an offensive anchor.
UMHB’s slugging junior right fielder was 3-for-5 with a towering home run and a triple. Villegas, who is eligible for the major league draft and drawing interest from scouts, drilled the first pitch he saw over the 395-foot sign in center field for a 1-0 lead.
“For about a week, I had actually been having this dream where I hit my first pitch of the season for a homer,” said the 6-2, 190-pound Villegas. “Then on the first pitch, the guy throws me a fastball right down the middle.”
UMHB chased TWU starter Brandon Whitley (0-1) with a five-run second inning that was fueled by doubles from Earnest Pena and Adam Froeschl, and Steven Reinlie’s two-run homer.
“When you keep thinking you’re going to play games and then you don’t play, it’s emotionally draining,” Wells said. “Scoring early instead of making mistakes was big for us.”
Villegas’ triple to right off Kody Thiebaud helped the Crusaders build an 8-0 lead in the sixth before the Rams finally got to UMHB’s bullpen.
TWU scored four runs - all earned - in the seventh off reliever Tanner Vaughn before freshman right-hander Jared Hopper got UMHB out of the inning with a pair of strikeouts.
The Crusaders added a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning on Pena’s RBI double off Matt Chutchian and Marcus Volz’s run-scoring single off Hayden Lackey, before the Rams scored three runs - all earned - off Hopper in the ninth.
“When Jared got in some trouble in the ninth, I was a couple of steps onto the field and thinking about going to get him,” Wells said. “But then he struck out the last two guys, which should really give him some confidence.”
UMHB’s scheduled home game Friday against Southwestern Assemblies of God has been moved to 2 p.m. today in Waxahachie.
The Crusaders will play at home next when they host Texas College for a doubleheader at 11 a.m. Saturday.
“This was a good start. We want to keep building from here and I think we will,” Wells said. “After last year, these guys know what it’s like to get to the tournament and they know what it takes to get there.”
edrennan@temple-telegram.com
