GOODWELL, Okla. — The Oklahoma Panhandle State baseball team (7-6, 0-2 SAC) opened conference play Friday in cold, windy conditions at Carroll Gribble Field, where it fell 12-3 and 14-9 versus Texas Wesleyan (15-1, 2-0).
 
Despite some late-inning fireworks from the Aggie bats in both games, sloppy play defined the day for OPSU with a pair of seven-error games.
 
Game 1: The Aggies fell behind early as the Rams scored thrice during a marathon first inning in which Jean Duran threw over 40 pitches.
 
Duran recovered by striking out the side in the second frame, but a two-out walk in the third followed by an error eventually led to Texas Wesleyan grabbing a 5-0 lead.
 
The Rams blasted the game wide open in the fourth inning as they surged ahead 12-0, and it was not until the sixth inning when the Aggies would get on the board. That's when Genesis Nunez and Philip Matos both homered, bringing the final score to 12-3.
 
Braden Germundson pitched three innings in relief and allowed one earned run in the SAC opener, while Derek Borino closed the day with a scoreless seventh frame.
 
Game 2: Extra outs granted to the Rams again proved costly for OPSU to begin the second game, as TWU went ahead on an unearned two-run homer in the first. Devin Lopez and Nugyen Culmer provided consecutive doubles in the bottom of the first to bring the score to 2-1.
 
Both teams scored once in the third inning while keeping the ball primarily in the infield, as the game headed to the top of the fifth with the Rams ahead, 3-2.
 
The Rams notched four runs in that fifth inning, but the Aggies roared back in the bottom of the frame. Trailing 7-2, Nunez launched a two-out solo homer to center field, which was followed by a pair of walks. Zoilo Pimentel then singled in a run and later scored on a passed ball, and OPSU soon had runners on the corners behind just two, 7-5. The threat ended there, however, and TWU took advantage of errors and big swings in the sixth and seventh to stay in front, 14-5.
 
OPSU mounted a comeback highlighted by a two-run double by Michael Perry in the bottom of the seventh, but it was not nearly enough as the sun set on Carroll Gribble Field.
 
What's up next: OPSU looks to bounce back in the series finale on Saturday, with the first pitch scheduled for 12 noon.