Eagles take down longtime OKC rivals

Photo by: Will Gentry

 

Oklahoma Christian University baseball trounced the Oklahoma City University Stars 14-3 on Tuesday, April 8.

The Eagles held a 9-0 lead until the fourth inning, when the Stars picked up two over junior starter Kelby Reneau.

Senior Blake Stringer contributed five RBIs, a double and four runs scored.  Caden Cleveland, the Heartland Conference hitter of the week, hit four RBIs, three runs, a double and a home run. Senior A.J. Florence added to the lead, scoring four more runs.

“We were coming off a disappointing weekend and looking to come back strong,” senior Kacy Cook said. “I think we just did a really good job of washing that weekend away. We jumped out to an early lead and the bats were hot, especially against their good pitchers.”

The Eagles kept the winning streak going by defeating the Ecclesia College Royals 18-6 in the first game of their weekend series opener on Saturday, April 12.

“We went in for the sweep [against Ecclesia],” junior pitcher Luke Sandoval said. “The competition we had with Ecclesia was not the toughest, but we took care of business like we needed to.”

Florence contributed against the Royals with a grand slam, a triple, a double, two runs scored and six RBIs to help put Oklahoma Christian in the lead over the Royals.

Cleveland added to the scoreboard with two runs scored and four RBIs. Freshman Kolton Brown stepped up to the plate and scored his first collegiate home run.

“It’s exciting to see the team excelling the way they are,” sophomore Jesse Stephens said. “We started out strong and were able to finish the games strong. We had strong pitchers and the bats were hot. We came out to play and walked away with the win and that’s a good feeling to have.”

Ecclesia tried to shrink the gap in the seventh inning, pulling as close as 13-6, but senior Ryan Nash held them off to close the inning.

These 18 runs were the most the Eagles have scored in a single game since the 18-17 win over Wayland Baptist University on March 3, 2012.

The Eagles maintained their offensive momentum through the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday, April 12 against Ecclesia, leading them to a 5-1 win.

“It’s a nice accomplishment for us,” Sandoval said, “The week before our bats were kind of dead, so it was good to come back this week and have that success and to have our bats hot in this last stretch.”

Sandoval pitched for the Eagles during the first game of the doubleheader Saturday. The right-hander helped lead Oklahoma Christian to victory by holding the Royals to three hits in six innings. Senior Garrett Stephenson had a pair of RBIs, and senior Markus Carr contributed a two-run homer over the left field in the third inning.

The Eagles continued their offensive pressure in the second game of the doubleheader with a 10-6 victory.

The non-conference game scheduled against Oklahoma Baptist University on Monday, April 14 was postponed due to thunderstorms and severe weather that struck Oklahoma late the previous day.

“It’s disappointing that we are not going to get to play Oklahoma Baptist University tomorrow,” Cook said after learning of the postponement. “I think they are one of the best teams we have played all season and there really is no room to reschedule, so it’s disappointing that we won’t get to play against them.”

Oklahoma Christian looked to continue their streak as they prepared to face Oklahoma City University again on Tuesday, April 15 in an additional non-conference game.

“We can’t wait to play them again,” Cook said before the game. “We are hoping for a repeat success of last week’s game.”

The Eagles did just that, sweeping their season against the Stars after a four-hour and 12 minute game, 13-10.

Oklahoma Christian will host a doubleheader Southeastern Oklahoma State University on April 29 before going on the road for a Heartland Conference matchup against Oklahoma Panhandle State University on May 2 and 3.

The team has their eyes set on winning their conference regionals and making it back to the NCCAA College World Series.

“We are really focusing on the games we have coming up,” Sandoval said, “We have two tough conference weekends these next two weekends and we are really working towards placing top two in our conference. We are working towards regionals and winning it and heading back to the College World Series.”

Sandoval is not the only player with high hopes for the team in the season’s closing.

“I think the team has improved a lot this season,” Cook said. “I think we have a really good shot at making it back to the College World Series. I know it would be really disappointing if we did not make it.”