RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – A two-run Jocee Sparks home run in the fourth gave Oklahoma Baptist (19-16, 7-9 GAC) the push they longed for as the act lifted the Bison over Arkansas Tech (20-13, 11-6 GAC) in the series finale on Saturday afternoon.
OBU took the finale by a 2-1 tally after falling 2-0 in the first game of the day.
The pitching staff of the Bison put in work, tallying 18 strikeouts and surrendering three runs on the day. Kayleigh Jones appeared in both games, earning 11 strikeouts to bring her weekend total to 24. Teammate Aspen Younce twirled through 5.1 innings in the finale to earn her seventh win of the season, as she struck out seven and surrendered one run.
GAME ONE
The inaugural game was a defensive battle, as the clubs drew blanks until late in the contest. The Golden Suns charted the first two hits of the game in the second, but Jones and company retired the opposition with two left on base.
Oklahoma Baptist didn't chart a hit until the fourth, courtesy of a Sparks double into right field. Unfortunately, ATU regained their confidence to not allow any runs in the inning.
Arkansas Tech finally broke the seal in the sixth, charting two runs before retiring the Bison 1-2-3 at the top of the seventh for the victory. Sparks registered the lone hit for Oklahoma Baptist.
Jones struck out 10 and surrendered two runs through 6.0 innings of work.
GAME TWO
Like the first, scoring came far and few between in the finale. It took three scoreless innings before Sparks woke the action up with a two-run shot over left field, her eighth of the season, to give OBU a 2-0 lead.
Then, after walking one, Younce struck out three straight to close out ATU at the bottom of the frame. Her success continued in the following inning, as a ground-out and line-out foreshadowed her seventh strikeout out the contest. This tallied another Tech scoreless inning.
The Golden Suns squeezed out a run in the sixth, but Jones swooped in as relief to close out the win.
Sparks' home run led the Bison in the batter's box in the game. Four others, Sammie Greene, Emily Richardson, Samantha Campos, and Reagan Ford, also registered a hit.
Furthermore, Greene and Ford collected a stolen base, as Greene's was her second of the weekend.
Oklahoma Baptist will have a week-long break before returning to Shawnee for a conference series against Southeastern next weekend. The series is set to begin on Friday at 5 p.m.
