SPRINGDALE, Ark. – There was great defense played by both teams, but a sixth-inning homer gave top seed Southern Arkansas a 4-1 cushion en route to a 6-1 win over sixth seed Oklahoma Baptist on Friday morning at Arvest Ballpark.
OBU (31-22) will move into an elimination game on Friday at 7 p.m. against either Henderson State or Ouachita.
Bison pitcher
Jake Hamilton and SAU's Mikel Howell were both solid in the first few innings. In fact, there were just three combined hits heading to the bottom of the third.
During that frame, the Bison got a 6-4-3 double play, their second of the game at that point before SAU took the lead. Later, in what appeared to be a
Jayden Shafer tag-out on a steal attempt, the second base umpire initially ruled an out of SAU's Conner Allen. But after the officials convened, they overruled the call which resulted in a run for Riley Orr.
SAU added one more run after that on an RBI single from Will Richardson.
Down 2-0, OBU got its first run in the fifth. With two out, Shafer singled through the right side and plated
Austin Gonzales. In the very next at-bat
Dan Pruitt just missed a three-run homer as his shot to right center was corralled at the warning track by Chris Lyles.
Once more, OBU had a chance to tie or take the lead. But a 5-2-3 double play, SAU's first of the game, when the bases were loaded, kept the score at 2-1 after the top-half of the sixth.
The top-seed Muleriders then got a crucial hit in their half-inning of work. Sutton's shot to left field just cleared the wall and made the tally 4-1. After that, SAU retired the OBU side in order in the seventh, eighth and ninth frames.
OBU's one run scored marked just the third time all year that it didn't score multiple runs.
