The Basics

Game 1: Evangel 7, Texas A&M-Texarkana 8 | Box Score

Game 2: Evangel 3, Texas A&M-Texarkana 13 | Box Score

Record: Evangel (0-2), TAMTU (2-0)

Location: Texarkana, Texas (George Dobson Field)

TEXARKANA, Texas – Valor Baseball opened their 2025 campaign on Friday (Jan. 24) afternoon, looking to compete against a tough Texas A&M-Texarkana squad on the road in their season opener.

The Valor and Eagles played a tightly contested first game that saw Evangel come up just short in a comeback effort, 7-8, nearly rallying after starting the game down five runs. Evangel found themselves in an early hole in game two and were unable to generate enough offense to force a comeback, falling 3-13 in the final game of the day.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Wyatt Keplar earned the start in game one, throwing three scoreless innings to open Friday.

• Evangel was able to put pressure on TAMUT in the first inning of game one, as Evan Baptiste opened Friday with a single and stole a pair of bases to make it to third before being left stranded on a flyout and pair of strikeouts.

• The Eagles broke the game open in the fourth inning, scoring five runs on three hits and a pair of Evangel errors to lead 5-0.

• The Valor were able to earn a run back in the top of the fifth inning when EU opened the inning by loading the bases on walks and hit by pitches. A double play scored Matthew Olson to make it a 5-1 ballgame.

• TAMUT responded by scoring a pair to take a 7-1 lead over Evangel, heading into the sixth inning.

• Evangel put up six runs in the sixth inning to tie the game up at 7-7. Shane Poe opened the inning with a double, followed by an error and single from Brendan Coffindaffer to score Poe. A Clay Palen double scoring Quentin Edwards, while Coffindaffer scored on an error. A Matthew Olson single scored Palen before Jeremiah Leaming and Heath Perry worked walks to reload the bases. Poe came up clutch for the Valor offense, hitting a double to left field to score a pair of runs with two outs, tying the game up at 7-7.

• The Eagles were able to score the game winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning as Evangel could not score runners at second and third with two outs, falling 7-8 in game one.

• TAMUT was able to jump out to an early 0-12 lead in game two, as the Valor offense could not generate enough chances to push a run across in the first four innings.

• Evangel scored a pair of runs in the top of the fifth, after Justice Loflin singled and advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches, while Peyton Gayer and Kannon Perry both worked walks to load the bases. An Evan Baptiste single scored Loflin while a Parker Ellifritz walk scored Gayer to make it 2-12.

• After the Eagles scored a run in the bottom of the fifth, Evangel matched their run to round out scoring on Friday, as Shane Poe got on base via error, scoring on a Gayer single to finish Friday's second game with a 3-13 loss.

QUOTABLE 

"First of all, I'm really proud of the fight our guys showed in game one. Wyatt Keplar came out and filled up the zone and executed. The fight we showed to come back after being down is a testament to the guys buying into our culture and being relentless," head coach Sam Jones stated. "With that being said, we have to clean up the little things. Base running mistakes, not making routine plays in the field, and not filling up the zone come back to haunt you. We need to have a short memory, learn from the mistakes, and get back after it tomorrow."

NOTABLE

• Shane Poe and Evan Baptiste led Evangel offensively, both batting .429 (3/7) on Friday.

• Evangel allowed TAMUT to bat .333 on Friday, while Evangel mustered just .229 at the dish.

• The Valor struggled in the field on Friday, finishing with six errors compared to the Eagles four.

• Evangel moved to 6-15 all-time against TAMUT and will look to bounce back tomorrow for another doubleheader.

NEXT UP

Evangel Baseball concludes their series with the Eagles on Saturday (Jan. 25) morning, opening a doubleheader at 11:00 a.m. at George Dobson Field.

For the latest information on Evangel Athletics, visit Facebook at Facebook.com/EvangelValor, Twitter (@EvangelValor), or EvangelAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on their favorite EU teams by downloading the Evangel Athletics Gameday App through the App Store or Google Play.