OC baseball sweeps weekend with shutouts and seven-plus runs

Austin Peck sliding to third base. — Junior Austin Peck slides into third base in the game against Graceland University. *Photo by Roxi Gonzalez*

In a weekend series against two Iowa teams, the Oklahoma Christian University baseball team recorded a shutout or scored at least seven runs in each of its four games.

Junior Zac Cobble said the weekend games were a reflection of the team’s momentum as the season progresses.

“We are starting to get on a role finally, and we have a lot of guys stepping up,” Cobble said.

In Friday’s first game against Graceland University, the Eagles scored consistently in the first, second, fifth, sixth and seventh innings, with a total of eleven runs. The Yellowjackets scored one run in both the fifth and sixth inning, making the final score 11-2.

Oklahoma Christian faced its second Iowa opponent of the weekend, Clarke University, on Friday night. Pitcher Kelby Reneau recorded a complete-game shutout against the Crusaders, while Cody Rosecrans’ bat earned two RBIs in the second from a double and two more in the fourth from a two-run homer. The final score was 4-0.

According to Cobble, an aggressive pace of game gave the Eagles an edge during the weekend.

“We came out with a lot of intensity and played hard from the first inning to the last inning,” Cobble said.

Saturday featured the Eagles’ second meeting with Clarke. Oklahoma Christian scored seven times in the first four innings, unanswered by the Crusader. Clarke scored once in the top of the sixth, but recorded the loss after they failed to score again in the seventh, making a 7-1 final score.

The Eagles faced Graceland for a second time on Saturday afternoon, recording their second shutout of the weekend. Pitcher Jared Price led Oklahoma Christian on the mound, recording his second win of the season. The Eagles scored once in the first inning from a Ben McKenzie single that sent Caden Cleveland home, and again in the fourth inning off a single from Brady Baugh that put McKenzie across the plate, sealing a final score of 2-0.

Cobble said a balance on the mound and behind the plate was key for the Eagles’ success.

“Our pitching staff did a great job this weekend and our hitters did a great job of putting runs up on the board to help them out as well,” Cobble said. “It was a good weekend for our team.”

With the weekend sweep, Oklahoma Christian, currently on a seven-game win-streak, improved its record to 8-5.

The Eagles travel to Shawnee, Oklahoma to face Oklahoma Baptist University on Feb. 24.