SHAWNEE – Six different Oklahoma Baptist batters hit above .500 on Saturday as the green and gold won twice against Southwestern Oklahoma State at a windy Bobby Cox Field at Ford Park. The Bison cruised to an 18-6 win in game one before solidifying the sweep with a 11-7 game-two result. OBU improved to 8-9 and 4-5 in the GAC with the victories.
GAME ONE
After the Bulldogs secured the game's first run in the opening inning, the Bison reeled off 11 straight in the blowout.
Troy Shields gave the home squad a 3-1 lead when he took an 0-2 pitch to center and watched as SWOSU's defender collided with the wall which jarred the ball loose. That triple scored
Ramon Gomez and
Dan Pruitt.
Two innings passed and in the bottom of the third, Gomez boosted the Bison's advantage. A 2-0 pitch was rocked by the senior to left center and cleared the wall. That shot also plated
Alex Schroeder and moved the tally to 5-1.
With the Bison offense cruising, starting pitcher
Brek Galbreath did his part on the mound. In the first four frames, he struck out seven and allowed just that first-inning run.
Then in the fourth, OBU really opened things up offensively. In that inning,
Walker Keller smashed a three-run bomb while Pruitt added a solo shot.
Troy Shields added an RBI single as well as moving the score to 11-1
Over the remainder of the shortened game due to run rule, the Bison got another homer from Pruitt, a two-run hit in the fifth, and extended their lead to 18-6. It was the most runs scored this season.
GAME TWO
The Bison trailed at a couple points during the second contest. However, those deficits would be short-lived as the offense continued to capitalize against Southwestern's pitching efforts.
Down 1-0 heading to the bottom of the first,
Isiah Lissade smacked a solo shot off the video board in left center and tied the game.
Then in the third, back-to-back doubles from Keller and Pruitt tied the game at 3-3. What followed was a two-run homer from Schroeder to right field with a 24 mile-per-hour wind aiding the ball. That shot from Schroeder gave the Bison a lead it would never give up.
An inning later, Pruitt came up with the play of the game. A 1-0 pitch was connected on to dead center and cleared the wall, well past 400 feet, and pushed the OBU advantage to 9-3. The grand slam scored Keller, Lissade and
Brandon Brewer. It was the team's seventh home run of the day.
OBU did get into a bit of trouble in the fifth when SWOSU scored four runs including a two-run double by Cade Hamilton.
However, closer
Garrett Kellogg-Clarke would come in and shut the Bulldogs down. Earning his second save in the last two days, he faced nine batters in the final three innings, gave up two hits, no runs and fanned four.
The Bison are back in action on March 8 at 5 p.m. when Central Oklahoma comes to town. Earlier this season, the Bronchos rallied for an 8-7 win in 12 innings in Edmond.
