For the first time this season, the Oklahoma Christian University baseball team swept a Heartland Conference opponent: Texas A&M International University 3-0 on March 24 and 25.
The first game of the series saw both teams bring runs in early. In the first inning, the Eagles responded to an early deficit when senior Lane Paul scored two runners to give his team a 2-1 lead.
Oklahoma Christian fell behind in the following innings until sophomore Garrett Wages brought three runners in with a triple to take the advantage, 5-3.
The Eagles had back-to-back three-run innings in the fourth and fifth to push their lead up to 8-4 and after a single run in the seventh inning, they took the win 8-5.
“As a team we never stopped fighting through the adversity,” senior Jake Baxter said. “We kept fighting for the win and we came out with it in the end.”
Senior Dalton Rentz pitched six innings and struck out six batters in that time while allowing four runs. Junior Garett Hill pitched the final inning for the Eagles.
In the second game of the doubleheader the Eagles picked up the victory in the last half of the game to win 12-7 and clench the series win.
Junior Chad Kennedy lead the team with two runs and three RBIs, while senior Cory Duran and freshman Zac Bycko both had two RBIs.
Five different pitchers stepped onto the mound in the game, four of which pitched a full inning or more. Junior Mason McAlister started for the Eagles and recorded four strikeouts while allowing five runs in five innings. Three of the other four pitchers recorded a strikeout in their single inning. Junior Matthew Fusselman was the only one to pitch less than a full inning.
The final game in the series ended with the Eagles putting up all of their runs in the final four innings to complete the sweep 7-3.
Senior Jake Collins led the Eagles’ four pitchers with four strikeouts and only allowed two runs in just over five innings before he was relieved. Duran was the only Eagle with two runs and Wages had two RBIs for the game.
The earliest score was during the fourth inning and that was the only time Oklahoma Christian trailed. In the fifth, the Eagles brought in their first pair of runs from Wages and Baxter. Oklahoma Christian led from that point on.
“Getting a series win like this is huge,” Baxter said. “It is a good gauge on how we will stack up against other teams in the future.”
The Eagles will travel to Weatherford, OK, today to play a single game against Southwestern Oklahoma State University at 2 p.m.
Statistics provided by the Oklahoma Christian University Sports Information office.
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