PLAINVIEW, Tex. (TaborBluejays.com) – Tabor College Bluejay Baseball opened the 2025 campaign in stellar fashion, traveling down to Plainview, Texas for a four-game series against Wayland Baptist University and dominating the first two contests. The Bluejays entered the opening weekend ranked No. 22 in the NAIA Top 25 Preseason Coaches’ Poll, and after witnessing to opening leg of their trip to Texas, it’s not hard to see why.
Game One: W 15-9
Right off the bat, no pun intended, Tabor got a solid start, with leadoff man Isaiah Cohens advancing to first base after being hit by pitch. Micah Dvorak wasted no time putting the Bluejays on the board first, hitting a bomb to left field and giving TC an early 2-0 advantage. Marcelo Aguirre had no intention on being left out of the fun, sending a pitch sailing over the fence in left center, pushing the lead to 3-0. The Pioneers caught a small break, getting the first out of the game before Cody Moore quickly erased any positive feelings felt by the defense, hitting a homer over left center to extend the lead to 4-0. Garryn Plummer recorded his first hit of his Senior season, doubling to right. Jared Mack followed Plummer’s hit with a hit of his own, hitting a single to left field and sending Plummer’s courtesy runner, Cole Schieffer home. After a monster 1st Inning, Tabor held a solid 5-0 lead over Wayland Baptist going into the 2nd Inning.
An uneventful 2nd Inning for both sides paved the way for a monster 3rd Inning for TC. Juan Rosa Gonzalez reached the bases on an error and Moore sent him home after doubling to left field, pushing the Bluejays’ lead to 6-0 early in the inning. WBU hoped to stop the bleeding with a pitching change, but the change proved to be futile as Schieffer advanced to second base on a wild pitch and Mack walked. Mikey Acosta sent Moore in to score, hitting a single to right field. Danny Zepeda came up to the plate with the bases loaded again and sent Schieffer in to score again with a single of his own. Cohens sent Acosta and Mack in to score, hitting a single to left field and giving Tabor a 10-0 lead. Rosa Gonzalez added the fourth homerun of the day with a three-run homer, giving the Bluejays a comfortable 13-0 lead in the 3rd. The Pioneers added four runs of their own to pull within nine and cut the Bluejays’ lead, 13-4.
Wayland scored another run in an otherwise uneventful 4th Inning.
The Pioneers scored two more runs to get back within six runs, cutting Tabor’s advantage, 13-7.
Aguirre hit his second bomb of the day in the top of the 7th Inning and the fifth for TC, sending Cohens in to score as well. WBU hit a late two-run homer to come back within six with two outs, but a quick third out sealed the game and gave Tabor their first win of the new season with a score of 15-9.
Marcelo Aguirre led the Bluejays on offense with two homers and three RBIs.
Wyatt Bauer earned his first career win in a Bluejay uniform, throwing 68 pitches and facing 16 batters, throwing five strikeouts. Lee Souza pitched in relief in his first outing as a Bluejay, throwing five strikeouts as well.
Game Two: W 18-7
A big win early might make some teams complacent, but that was not the case for Tabor in their second game of the four-game series at Wayland Baptist. Isaiah Cohens got on base as the leadoff man for the second game in a row, this time hitting a double to left center. Micah Dvorak singled to center, sending Cohens in to score, giving the Bluejays an early 1-0 lead. Juan Rosa Gonzalez smashed his second homer of the day, adding three more runs to Tabor’s tally. Cody Moore immediately followed up with a homer of his own, putting Tabor on top 5-0 going into the bottom of the inning. The Pioneers got on the board in the bottom of the 1st with a RBI double, cutting Tabor’s lead to 5-1 going into the 2nd Inning.
If the Pioneers thought for a minute that the Bluejays would slow down, those thoughts were erased in the top of the 2nd Inning as Cohens hit a two-run homer to get things going. Marcelo Aguirre hit an RBI single shortly after, sending Dvorak home and extending Tabor’s lead, 8-1.
The Bluejays kept the runs coming in, with Mateo Martinez coming in to score and Cohens finding home plate thanks to a wild pitch, giving the Bluejays a 10-1 advantage going into the bottom of the inning.
Cohens hit an RBI single with two outs in the top of the 4th Inning, scoring Martinez once again. Dvorak immediately followed that up with a massive three-run homer putting the Bluejays well in control with a 14-1 lead.
Wayland added a run with a homer of their own in the bottom of the 5th.
The Pioneers got their turn to have a big inning in the bottom of the 6th, scoring five runs and cutting Tabor’s lead to seven.
Not to be outdone, the Bluejays added four more runs to their tally by way of two two-RBI singles from Moore and Cohens. Tabor went on to win in dominant fashion, 18-7.
Isaiah Cohens led the team on the offensive side of things with four runs, five hits, and five RBIs.
Evan Williams earned his first win in his first start of the 2025 campaign, throwing 66 pitches and facing 21 batters, pitching four strikeouts. Zachary Garner and Sergio Gutierrez pitched in relief, with Garner striking out three batters and Gutierrez striking out two.
The Bluejays return to action on Saturday for their second doubleheader against Wayland Baptist. First pitch is scheduled for 12pm and the games will be broadcast live on the SAC Sports Network. Live Stats will also be available.
Be sure to stay up to date with all information regarding Bluejay Athletics by following us on X at @gotaborbluejays, on Instagram and Facebook @taborbluejays, and on our official athletic website, taborbluejays.com.
Tabor College is a Christ-centered institution located in Hillsboro, Kansas. The Bluejays are members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and compete in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC).
