Bison Pummel Southern Nazarene, 20-6

SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist scored 20 runs on 20 hits to open its series with Southern Nazarene with a 20-6 win Friday.
 
Matt Poulin had five RBIs on four hits and Zane Gelphman added four RBIs on four hits, including an unusual inside the park home run. Josh Timms, Juan Gonzalez, Jake Gozzo and PJ Harris had two hits each.
 
OBU scored four times in the bottom of the first inning after the first two batters were out. Gozzo and Harris produced RBI singles and Poulin added a two-run double.
 
Gelphman got his 16^th home run of the season on a ball that never left the yard and was never touched by a fielder until he crossed the plate. Gelphman hit a screamer just inside the third base bag and into an area cut out for the field tarp. The left fielder raised both hands to signal a request for a ground rule double while Gelphman rounded the bases. The field umpire went to examine the lie of the ball and found it to be play-able and the home run stood.
 
OBU went ahead 6-0 in the fourth on an RBI double by Timms.
 
The Bison tacked on eight runs in the fifth, including an RBI single by Poulin, an RBI grounder by Brett Berghammer, a bases-loaded walk by Timms, and RBI ground out by Gonzalez, a two-run double by Gelphman and an RBI double by Kaden Betsch.
 
OBU plated six more in the sixth using an RBI single by Timms, an RBI double by Gelphman, an RBI single by Gozzo, a two-run triple by Poulin and an RBI single by Brett Bloomfield.
 
Caleb Bly struck out 10 batters over six innings to get the win and improve to 6-1.
 
OBU had a season-best 209 fans in attendance for Strike Out Cancer.
 
The teams return to Bison Field at Ford Park Saturday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader to close the regular season. OBU will honor its eight seniors before the first game.