DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern Oklahoma State came back from a big loss yesterday to win two close contests over Oklahoma Baptist in Great American Conference play at Mike Metheny Field. The Savage Storm won by 13-9 and 9-8 scores and halted OBU's five-game winning streak.
GAME ONE
The hosts rallied twice including scoring six in the eighth to even the three-game series up.
Like yesterday, OBU jumped ahead early scoring two runs in the first.
Dan Pruitt socked another home run, tying for the national lead at 15, while
Trey Furrey drew a bases-loaded walk and plated
Alex Schroeder.
Southeastern did tie the game an inning later on a Seth Morrow RBI single before the green and gold went ahead again.
In the fifth, the Bison scored four to move the tally to 6-2. In that frame,
Isiah Lissade and
Walker Keller started with back-to-back solo shots. Three at-bats followed before
Ramon Gomez socked a two-run bomb to right.
That four-run advantage would not be held, though, as SE rallied an inning later. In the sixth, the hosts hit a trio of homers, the last of which from Reid Rice, tying things up at 6. A frame later, the Bison defense got two straight outs to start, however, an infield throwing error later moved the scoreboard to 7-6, SE.
Despite relinquishing the lead, the Bison fought back to attain another go-ahead run. Eighth-inning action brought a bases-loaded walk to Pruitt before Schroeder drove home Lissade on a sacrifice fly.
The offensive showcase then reached a maximum high for the Savage Storm in their eighth inning. Down by a run, the hosts scored six on five hits to go back in front for good.
In that frame, SE's first three batters got on before a Hayden Evans single to right scored Matt Miles tying the game at 8. A couple at-bats later, Dylan Herd singled down the right-field line and scored two more. At that point it was 11-8.
SE tacked on two more before Gomez launched a solo shot in the ninth for OBU's final tally.
GAME TWO
Southeastern scored five times in the first during the rubber game of the series.
After OBU tallied a run in its first plate appearances, the Savage Storm tallied three multi-base hits and a sacrifice fly. SE got a solo bomb from Seth Morrow followed by an RBI double courtesy of Rice. Evans then got in the mix two batters later as he tripled down the right-field line plating two more.
Following the second frame, in which the hosts bolstered its advantage to 8-2, OBU began its rally.
Third-inning competition brough three runs for the Bison. Keller smoked a solo shot to start before Schroeder came up with a two-run blast to left. That launch pushed Pruitt home as well and made the tally 8-5.
Two scoreless innings passed until the sixth when each team tallied a single run in the sixth.
That paved the way to a tense top of the seventh for SE. Pruitt started the last inning with another homer, this one his 16th of the year. The Storm then got two of the next three batters out before OBU put even more pressure on the host's defense.
Kade Self,
Troy Shields and Furrey all reached base before a bases-loaded walk to
Jose Parga made the score 9-8. Unfortunately for OBU, a pitching change followed and Coby Langford closed the game by getting a force-out at second.
OBU will regroup and return home on April 8 at 6 p.m. against Northwestern Oklahoma State.
