SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist won its baseball series against visiting Harding University by taking the first game of a Saturday doubleheader, 6-4. The Bison had won the first game of the series Friday, 2-1, before Harding won the third and final game, 13-3.
OBU's record is now 14-10 overall and 10-5 in Great American Conference play. The Bison are in fourth place, a few percentage points out of first place currently occupied by Arkansas Tech. OBU will face ATU in a three-game series beginning Friday in Russellville, Ark. Before that, the Bison will face instate rival Southwestern Oklahoma State in a non-conference matchup Tuesday in Weatherford.
In the game two win OBU forged a 4-4 tie scoring four times in the fourth. P.J. Harris drove in a pair of runs and
Jake Gozzo's sixth homer of the year knotted the score at four all.
Joey Pledger delivered the clutch game winner in the eighth with a hard-hit single to centerfield scoring Kaimana Bartlelome and
Eric Carlson.
Andrew Eppenbach got the win in relief of starter
Jake Lipetzky. Eppenbach threw three-plus shutout innings allowing one hit, one walk and striking out two batters.
In the finale, OBU carried a 3-2 lead through three innings on the strength of Gozzo's two-run homer and
Garrett McKee's RBI single in the third.
Harding then erupted for seven runs in the fourth. They added two runs over the next three innings as OBU went through a season-high six pitchers in an effort to slow the visitors.
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