Eagles baseball set new record with lengthy win streak

Photo by: Henoc Kivuye 

 

The Oklahoma Christian University baseball team set a new record with seven consecutive wins in the beginning of March before going 5-5 over the next 12 days.

The Eagles played a doubleheader against University of Arkansas-Fort Smith at Putnam City High School on Friday, March 7, and a single game on Sunday March 9, sweeping the Lions in the series.

“Right now we feel very confident,” senior Tyler Schuman said prior to the game on March 7. “We’re looking to keep our winning streak going into this weekend’s conference series. We need to make sure we play one game at a time and stay focused.”

After the crushing the Lions, the Eagles reported that they felt good about going into their next games, especially with players like senior Blake Stringer and junior Jordan Lopez.

“Every time we needed a big hit or some momentum to shift our way, [Jordan Lopez] showed up and performed incredibly well,” junior Cody Rosecrans said.

Stringer had three RBIs in the doubleheader March 7.

He also homered during the first game (with Oklahoma Christian winning 2-0). Stringer has a total of 26 RBIs this season.

“Position-wise, Lopez is continuing to stay hot,” Head Baseball Coach Lonny Cobble said. “Blake Stringer is playing well still. Mostly we’re just getting solid pitching.”

Oklahoma Christian’s right-handed pitcher, senior Kyle Sturges, pitched a complete game – allowing Arkansas-Fort Smith only one hit in seven innings on March 9.

“Our starting pitching has been consistent all season so far, and [the team] continued that this past weekend,” Schuman said after the sweep. “Also, we took advantage of free bases and played solid defense.”

Senior Brandon Pierce threw a three-hitter and struck out six players at Putnam City High School on March 7.

Only one runner managed to reach third base.

“I was really proud of Brandon,” Cobble said about the game on Friday. “The guys did a great job, and we’re really pleased with the performance we got. He kept those guys off-balance.”

Oklahoma Christian repeated their success of the series opener with a 10-6 win in the second game against Arkansas-Fort Smith.

The pitchers kept up their game; junior Kelby Reneau picked up where Pierce left off.

“Kelby pitched a great game,” Cobble said after the doubleheader. “He had great command of the changeup and his off-speed stuff and kept those guys off-balance all day today. Our pitching’s just getting better and better.”

Reneau pitched a complete shutout against the Lions for five innings, allowing Oklahoma Christian to gain an 8-0 lead, but he let the Lions in during the sixth.

“I think as a team we need to improve on finishing every game with the same urgency we have at the beginning,” Reneau said. “I know we have swept two series in a row, but it’s something that can always be improved. That’s one thing I can definitely improve on as well.”

The Eagles led the entire game, and according to Schuman, the Eagles’ advantage had a lot to do with pitching.

“Another weakness for [Arkansas-Fort Smith] was hitting,” Schuman said. “Although, I wouldn’t say it’s much of a weakness because I don’t want to take away any credit to our pitchers – they pitched very well and got a lot of outs.”

Despite the lack of urgency in the bottom of the sixth inning, Oklahoma Christian secured a 10-6 win.

“I was a little disappointed with the defense,” Cobble said. “We wanted to put some guys in, to get them some at-bats and had that 10-1 lead and kind of let them chip away and get back into it; we just kind of lost focus there for a little bit. But you live and you learn. [Those are] things the guys really need to work on.”

After the 6-1 victory on March 9, both the team and the coach addressed what they needed to improve for the game Tuesday against Southwestern State University.

“One thing we need to work on is being consistent throughout the game and not let up at all; if we can do that we will be fine,” Schuman said.

Reneau agreed and asserted his willingness to put in the effort.

“There’s always room to get better,” Reneau said. “Now is the time we have to push harder when we’re playing well. Coach told us to never let off the gas pedal and close out the series because the other team is desperate to get at least one win.”

The team will continue the push forward as they face more and more challenging opponents this season, checking in their first appearance in the South Central Region baseball rankings at No. 9.

The players said they felt ready.

“I felt that we prepared for these exact situations,” Rosecrans said. “That’s why you practice them; so that when the time comes you aren’t caught off-guard, you’re ready to perform at your highest level.”

Going against Southwestern on Tuesday, March 11, the team stayed optimistic, yet according to Cobble, there is always room for improvement.

“We just want to continue to play well; we don’t want to overlook them,” Cobble said. “We’re on a six-game winning streak. It’s always nice to play teams that are winning. … They’re going to come in and try to put us away, so we just have to stick with it.”

Oklahoma Christian’s seven consecutive wins between Friday, Feb. 28 and Tuesday, March 11 surpassed the program’s previously longest winning-streak record set back in 2009.

The Eagles went 5-5 from March 14 through March 25.

Texas-Permian Basin swept them through five games on March 14 and 15 in Odessa, Texas.

The team traveled to Claremore, Okla., and swept Rogers State on March 21 and 22 in retaliation.

Oklahoma Christian plays McMurry University at home on Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. For updates and scores, follow the game live on Twitter @OCTalon.