ALVA – Oklahoma Baptist won both games over Northwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday and clinched its second consecutive Great American Conference series after 13-7 and 3-0 wins in Alva. With the results, OBU improved to 9-8 and 4-5 in league play.
GAME ONE
The Bison led throughout as
Dan Pruitt and
Isiah Lissade led a potent attack with three hits apiece during a 13-7 win over the Rangers. OBU collected 16 hits overall and also got four runs batted in by
Kade Self. In addition to Pruitt and Lissade,
Gabe Irwin and
Troy Shields also notched multiple hits.
On the pitching front,
Garrett Kellogg-Clarke was fantastic tossing three innings, allowing no runs while fanning three. Also of note, OBU did a good job of limiting damage and getting out of trouble. In fact, by game's end, Northwestern stranded 16 runners.
A five-run first inning was highlighted by a Self two-run single as well as RBI hits for Shields and
Jose Parga. Over the next two innings, the Bison were shut out as the Rangers tallied four.
Then in the home half of third, NWOSU threatened again. There were two runners in scoring position after a sac bunt by Thomas Beiswanger. At the moment, Kellogg-Clarke entered the game and got a strikeout and groundout to end the threat.
Kellogg-Clarke continued to get things done defensively as the Rangers were kept scoreless in the fourth, fifth and sixth frames. In that time, OBU pulled ahead for good.
After an RBI double from Pruitt in the fourth, the Bison plated three more in the sixth. Pruitt started that inning with another run-scoring hit before junior catcher
Alex Schroeder smacked a two-run bomb to left. At that point, OBU led 9-4. Northwestern never threatened again as the green and gold added four more runs in the final two innings.
GAME TWO
Senior pitcher
Jake Hamilton was sensational on the mound as the Bison took game three and the series over Northwestern by a 3-0 tally. He ended up with a career-high 14 strikeouts, gave up just two hits and helped the Bison attain their first shutout win of the year.
Hamilton's 14 strikeouts were the second-most by a Bison pitcher in a D2 game. The last time that happened was by OBU Hall of Famer Jinny Parra against Northwestern on April 4, 2017.
With Hamilton dealing, the Bison offense didn't need much to earn the doubleheader sweep.
The green and gold got all the run support they needed in the second. Following a one-out single by Furrey, Parga stepped into the batter's box a bit later and drove in OBU's third baseman with a single to left.
Two frames later, Parga and Furrey were in on the team's second run. This time though, an infield error by the Rangers pushed Furrey across home plate.
OBU's final run, in the seventh, came on a sacrifice fly by Pruitt. That shot to right field allowed Parga to score the team's final run.
For the Rangers, they were retired in order in four of the seven innings and only got one base runner in scoring position.
Next on the schedule for OBU is a road game against Pittsburg State on March 7 at 2 p.m.
