SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist has two games against Emporia State and Newman coming Apr. 18 and 19, respectively. Tuesday's game with the Hornets marks the third contest this season between the schools while Wednesday's affair versus the Jets is the first since 2020.
The Bison are coming off a hard-fought series against Ouachita. OBU got one win in the three-game series, a 10-3 triumph on Apr. 14 as
Alex Schroeder notched two homers while
Jake Hamilton got the win on the mound. With the weekend results, OBU moved its record to 22-17.
Coach
Chris Cox's team has been very good lately, winning eight of 11. The green and gold have averaged 12.2 runs per game, have hit 21 homers and driven in 125.
Kade Self has led the front with a .480 average while
Dan Pruitt has notched six homers and a team-high 24 RBI. Of note, seven different players have recorded at least 10 RBI.
With those numbers, the Bison have made some significant movement in the GAC stat rankings.
Batting Average: Self | .401 | 2nd
Slugging: Pruitt | .757 | 2nd
RBI: Self | 59 | 2nd
HR: Pruitt | 15 | 2nd | Schroeder | 14 | 3rd
Runs Scored:
Isiah Lissade | 51 | 5th
On the pitching front, several have put together good numbers. Hamilton has two wins in three appearances with 21 strikeouts while
Jordan Brewer has allowed just a single hit in 4.2 innings pitched with a save. Additionally,
Logan Kimbro and
Brek Galbreath have tallied 12 and 15 strikeouts, respectively.
Hamilton is fifth in the GAC in strikeouts (77) while Galbreath checks in at fifth in strikeouts looking (20).
Here's a look at this week's mid-week opponents, Emporia and Newman:
The Hornets (16-26) have lost five of six after a 7-6 defeat at Washburn. Noah Geekie has a team-high batting average of .333 with three triples. Kaydn Williams has posted 36 runs batted in, a team-high, and five homers. That latter total is good for second on Emporia. Also of note, Quinton Carlberg and Andrew Rantz are Emporia's leaders in homers with eight and seven, respectively.
Newman (19-24) was swept at No. 4 Missouri Southern over the weekend. The Jets allowed 46 runs in the three games as well. Jenner Steele has put together an outstanding season for Newman. He is the team leader with 14 bombs and a .412 average. Plus, Jake Angelico has registered 11 homers, and team-highs with 58 RBI and 23 stolen bases. Furthermore, Jason Schneider has notched 12 doubles, five triples and five homers.
