SPRINGDALE, Ark. – Oklahoma Baptist battled and led throughout most of the game to top-seed Southern Arkansas on Saturday at Arvest Ballpark. However, the Muleriders rallied in the ninth with two runs to defeat the Bison, 7-6, in the GAC Tournament Championship game.
The green and gold came ready to play on this day and seized a 3-0 lead after two. And those runs came via a trio of homers.
With two out in the first, senior
Dan Pruitt rocked his 45th career bomb – second-most all time - to left center. But during the play, he injured his hamstring and would not return.
OBU kept the pressure up on SAU pitcher Wyatt Marr in the second with two more long shots.
Alex Schroeder delivered the next bomb before
Troy Shields, who was dealing with injury in the last week, sent another homer to left field. It was 3-0 at that point.
The Bison added another run to make it 4-0 after Schroeder's sac fly to left in the third.
Bottom of the third action saw the Muleriders cut the deficit to two. In that frame, Brett McGee provided a two-out RBI single to center before Riley Orr scored on an infield throwing error.
Then in the fourth, another error helped SAU tie the game. Before that, Chris Garcia drove in Chris Lyles before an errant throw at short pushed Will Richardson across home. That run tied things up at 4-4.
That 4-4 score remained the same over the fifth and sixth innings as Bison pitcher
Nolan Feazle allowed just one hit to the top seed.
Once the seventh inning rolled around, newcomer and All-GAC Tournament selection
Jayden Shafer provided what felt like the hit that would eventually lead the Bison to victory. In a six-pitch at-bat, the newcomer lasered a shot to right field and scored
Isiah Lissade with his seventh homer of the year.
Now down 6-4, SAU eventually came back. In the seventh, GAC Tournament MVP Brett McGee blasted a solo bomb out of the park premises to right and cut the Muleriders deficit to one.
Then ninth-inning action saw SAU walk it off. Following a balk, McGee singled to left and pushed Orr across home for the tying run. Over the next couple at-bats, SAU loaded the bases and then watched as Chris Lyles drew a bases-loaded walk to end the game.
The Bison's efforts over the last week were recognized as Lissade, Shafer,
Trey Furrey and
Brek Galbreath all earned GAC All-Tournament recognition.
As for Pruitt, he finishes his Bison career with the second-most homers (45), second-most triples (11) and eighth-most RBI (140) in program history.
