The Vernon College baseball team opened the 2022 conference schedule by winning the series 3-1 against Cisco College. After dropping game 1 in extra innings by a score of 4-3, the Chaps rebounded and won the next three straight by scores of 5-2, 15-1, and 11-9

Game 1

Lilian Amoros (Paris, France) took the mound in game one and set the tone for the series. Amoros shut down the Cisco offense for the first five innings as the series opener quickly became a pitching battle. A secnond inning two-run homerun by Dillon Flores (Lewisville, TX) put the Chaps on the board first. The score remained 2-0 all the way till the 6th when Cisco rallied to tie the game on a two out rbi single. 

The Chaps responded in the bottom of the 6th with a single by Jayden Hill (Frisco, TX) to score Sergio Ortiz (Yabuccoa, Puerto Rico) to regain the lead. However, defensive mistakes jump started a Cisco rally to tie the game in the 7th and again in the 8th as Cisco won game one 4-3.

Game 2

As the saying goes, you are only as good as your next games starting pitcher. In this case, the Chaps were really good. The story of game two centered around Marcos Escalera (Canovanas, Puerto Rico) who delivered a complete game performance allowing only 7 hits and 1 earned run while striking out 6 in 7 innings. 

The Chaparral offense continued to grind away with quality at-bat after quality at-bat and scoring runs in all but two innings. Seven of the nine hitters in the lineup recorded a hit with Elvis Rumaldo (Canovanas, Puerto Rico) and Jayden Hill each producing two hits. Homeruns were hit by Hill and Dillon Flores while Pierre-Emmanuel Planes (Lauzerville, France) brought home 2 of the 5 runs.

The Chaparrals broke open a 2-2 tie through four innings by scoring two in the 5th and one in the 6th. After taking the lead, Escalera closed the Wranglers out to win the game 5-2 and split the day one double-header. 

Game 3

As the series shifted to Cisco, the momentum stayed with the Chaparrals. The Chaps jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first. The score remained 2-0 until the top of the 4th when the bats came alive and put up 11 runs in the top of the 4th to break the game wide open. 

The stellar pitching from the first two games was continued on the mound by freshman pitcher Zak Taylor (Aubrey, TX). Taylor was in complete control from the start of the game as he struck out the side in the bottom of the first. Taylor pitched five innings allowing only 3 hits, 1 earned run while stiking out 10 and not issuing a single walk. 

The offense pounded out 15 runs on 12 hits. Once aagain, consistency was the key as every hitter in the lineup had a hit while Cole Miears (Kerrville, TX), Zak Skinner (Melbourne, Australia), and Jayden Hill had two hits a piece. 

The Chaps went on to get the run-ruled shortened victory 15-1. 

Game 4

Cisco jumped out to an early lead in game 4 siezing both the lead and the momentum by scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the first and another run in the botom of the 2nd. The Chaps quickly battled back with a 3 run inning of their own in the top of the 3rd to cut the Cisco lead to 4-3. However, the offense stalled for the next three innings while Cisco picked up a single run in each inning. After each teams platted a run in the 7th, Cisco had built an 8-4 lead heading in to the top of the 9th. 

Cameron Upchurch (The Colony, TX), lead off the 9th with a single to right center. Two quick outs brought up Pierre-Emmanuel Planes. After falling behind 0-2, Planes and the Chaps were down to their final strike. Planes managed to pull the count even at 2-2 before drawing a hit by pitch. With two on and two out, the Chaps proceeded to send  8 hitters to the plate and score 7 runs to take an 11-8 lead. Highlights of the 7 run inning include a single to right field by Alvaro Espinal (Attleboro, MA) that scored Upchurch. Dillon Flores doubled to left center on the first pitch he saw to score Planes and put the tying runs in scoring postion. Jayden Hill reached on a hit by pitch. After two defensive miscues by the Wranglers, Cameron Upchurch delivered a huge 2-run double to score the final two runs of the rally.

Nico Yglesia (Valencia, Venezuela) closed the door on the Wranglers for his first save of the season and the 3-1 series win.