WEATHERFORD, Okla. – The OBU bats came alive Monday as four different Bison belted home runs in a 16-8 rout of Southwestern Oklahoma State in the teams' series finale in Weatherford.
After the Bulldogs took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, OBU responded with two runs in the third on a two-run home run by
PJ Harris.
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SWOSU briefly re-took the advantage in the home half of the fifth, but the Bison responded in the top of the sixth as
Eric Carlson belted his third homer of the series, a solo shot to left center.
Brett Bloomfield gave OBU a 4-3 lead with an RBI single to right field scoring
Brock Carter.
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The Bison gave themselves some additional breathing room in the seventh, scoring three runs initiated by an RBI single by
Kaimana Bartolome. Bartolome and Carlson were then able to score on a throwing error by SWOSU reliever Chase Hamilton.
Brock Carter then stole home to extend the OBU lead to 8-3.
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The Dawgs managed to scratch across one more run in the seventh off Bison starter
Jake Lipetzky, who lowered his team-leading ERA to 3.11 while striking out eight in eight solid innings of work.
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After a walk to
Garrett McKee and double by Harris,
Jake Gozzo belted a three-run blast down the left field line to make it 11-4 Bison in the eighth. Bartolome tacked on another pair of runs for OBU, driving in
Ramon Enriquez with a two-run homer to left before
Joey Pledger roped a single to center field scoring Bloomfield and Carter.
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SWOSU managed to plate four runs over the final two frames off of Bison relievers, but the outcome was never in doubt after Carter's RBI single in the top of the ninth staked OBU to a 10-run advantage.
OBU returns to Bison Field at Ford Park to take on East Central in a three-game weekend series. Game one is set for 6 p.m. Friday evening, followed by a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Bison senior class will be honored in a ceremony prior to Saturday's opener.
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For complete coverage of Bison baseball, follow them on Twitter (
@OBU_Baseball).
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