SHAWNEE – For the second time this season, Oklahoma Baptist and Central Oklahoma will play. This occasion comes on March 8 at 2 p.m. at Bobby Cox Field at Ford Park.
In the first game of the year, the Bison got out to a 7-2 lead through five before UCO eventually came back to win 8-7 in 12 innings. This series has been a good one, with the Bronchos holding a slim 5-4 series advantage dating back to March of 2018.
OBU is coming off a three-game sweep against Southwestern Oklahoma State over the weekend. The Bison's wins improved the team's record to 8-9 and 4-5 in GAC play.
As has been detailed through a month of competition, the Bison have one of the best offenses in America. To date, the team's 37 home runs are tops in Division II while its .537 slugging mark is a top-20 total. In 12 of 17 games played, OBU has scored at least seven runs including a season-high 18 against SWOSU on March 5.
Additionally, the Bison have top-46 marks in doubles (39) and runs scored (147).
Helping lead the charge is a host of players. First baseman
Dan Pruitt is the national leader with 10 homers while his 26 RBI rank top-five.
Alex Schroeder also has notched 26 runs batted in. Rounding out OBU's top NCAA marks is
Walker Keller's seven doubles which slots him tied for 14th.
On the mound, the Bison staff put together a more-than-solid effort against the Bulldogs over the weekend. The unit posted a 4.30 ERA over the three games, notched 32 strikeouts and got wins from
Bo Dallas,
Brek Galbreath and
Devin Crawford. Plus,
Garrett Kellogg-Clarke earned two saves.
This season, OBU's 175 strikeouts are tops in the GAC and its 10.3 strikeouts-per-nine innings is a top-50 NCAA mark. Leading the Bison in Ks are Dallas (28), Kellogg-Clarke (26) and
Tyler Frank (26).
The other dugout features the 9-6 Bronchos. They are coming off a two-game sweep against Rogers State last weekend by 19-12 and 17-11 scores.
UCO is led offensively by Landon Wood who ranks seventh in the MIAA with a .413 average. Garrett Takamatsu is fourth with eight homers while Clayton Peterson checks in at No. 6 with 23 RBI.
The Bronchos' pitching staff has some good numbers behind it coming into this game. They have allowed 15 homers which is the second-fewest allowed in the MIAA. Collectively, UCO has a 6.54 ERA which is right in the middle of the MIAA pack (6th of 12) and it is giving up a .266 batting average to opponents.
Individually, the UCO staff's best pitcher is Tucker Elliott who has started four times and has a 6.16 ERA and a staff-best 28 strikeouts. After that, Lawson Isaacs is 2-2 this season in eight appearances with a 5.23 ERA.
