SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist's offense, led by senior
Kade Self, scored 26 combined runs in two games on Saturday against Southeastern Oklahoma State. OBU won 14-2 and 12-6 to complete the three-game sweep of the Savage Storm.
The green and gold won for the third and fourth straight games and improved to 12-8 overall and 7-5 in the Great American Conference.
GAME ONE
Like Friday night's game, Southeastern scored in the first before the Bison came back.
In the home half of the opening frame, Self connected with a two-out, two-run double down the left-field line and gave the home team a 2-1 lead. That hit scored
Jayden Shafer and
Isiah Lissade.
A frame later, the Bison added two more.
Rafael Gutierrez tripled to left center and plated
Troy Shields before a Lissade sacrifice fly pushed Gutierrez home.
Then in the third, OBU ran wild on SE's pitching. In fact, the team tallied eight runs and got a grand slam from Lissade and two run-scoring hits from Self. After three, it was 12-1 Bison.
OBU's pitching matched its offense after that scoring stretch. For starter
Ryan Turbeville, he allowed just one more run for the visitors after that massive eighth inning. He ended up tossing a season-high six innings and posted a season-best eight strikeouts with just one walk. Plus, both of the runs he allowed were unearned.
By game's end, Turbeville also got a combined 10 groundouts and fly-ball outs. In the seventh, senior
Garrett Kellogg-Clarke closed the run-rule shortened game by giving up just one hit while fanning three.
GAME TWO
Self had two home runs in the series finale which included the go-ahead grand slam in the fifth.
Before that though, SE's Damon Burroughs rocked a three-run bomb to right in the first, giving the Storm a 3-0 lead.
Southeastern stayed in front all the way to the fifth, but the Bison kept constant pressure on the Storm's pitchers and would chip away at the visitor's lead.
Lissade tallied a first-inning solo bomb before OBU tallied three runs in the second. Down 5-1, Self notched another solo shot before
Troy Shields doubled and scored
Trey Furrey. Now behind 5-3, OBU got another RBI, this time courtesy of
Jose Parga who drove in Shields.
A frame later in the third, Pruitt got in the action with another bomb. That shot to left field was his seventh long ball of the year.
With the score at 6-5 SE, starting pitcher
Jake Hamilton got out of trouble in the top of the fifth and brought the Bison bats back up.
Shafer and Pruitt started the frame with singles before a walk was issued to
Alex Schroeder. What followed was Self's grand slam on a 1-0 pitch to right field. That made the tally 9-6 and OBU would not lose that lead.
Jordan Brewer came to the mound for the Bison in the final three innings and was sensational. He struck out seven and earned the win, his second of the season.
The Bison will return to action on March 14 with a non-conference game at East Central. First pitch is schedule for 2 p.m.
