ARKADELPHIA, Ark. -- Despite a great pitching performance from
Ryan Turbeville and eighth-inning homer from
Gabe Irwin, Oklahoma Baptist fell to Henderson State 4-3 on Monday in Great American Conference action at Clyde Berry Field.
OBU moved its record to 27-18 overall and 15-15 in the GAC with the defeat.
Key Leaders
⦁ Turbeville tossed a season-high 6.0 innings and fanned five and allowed just one run.
⦁ Irwin was the only Bison to post multiple hits. He went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer.
⦁
Camron Grant drew three walks while
Isiah Lissade helped turn two double plays and finished with three putouts and four assists.
The Bison, for the third consecutive game, struck first. Lissade led off with a single before being driven home by another one-bagger from
Troy Shields.
What transpired after that was great pitching and defense from both sides.
For Turbeville, he scattered a few hits through the opening innings but also got a bunch of defensive help, including a trio of fly-ball outs and a third-inning double play.
On the opposite side, Henderson State's Reese Weaks kept the Bison attack in check. In seven innings, he struck out nine, allowed just that first inning run and got seven ground-ball outs. Plus, Weaks got out of multiple jams. In fact, the Bison had runners in scoring position in the second, third and fourth frames but weren't able to extened their 1-0 advantage.
It took some time but the Reddies finally tied things up in the sixth. Luke Farrar started that frame with a single and two batters later, Luke Rice sent a 3-1 pitch to center for the tying run.
Following a scoreless seventh, the Bison regained the lead. Grant was issued a two-out walk before Irwin blasted an 0-1 pitch to right. That was his second homer of the year and it gave the Bison a 3-1 lead.
Unfortunately, that two-run advantage was given up by Bison pitching in the home half of the eighth. Kaden Argenbright led off with a double before advancing to third on a wild pitch. Rice then drove in his teammate for HSU's second run. Then a four-pitch walk was issued to Jordan Allen before a sacrifice bunt by Louise Holt put two Reddies in scoring position.
Over the next few sequences, HSU tied the game on a sacrifice fly from Nate Moore before back-to-back wild pitches allowed pinch runner Alex Galvan to score from second.
In the ninth, the Bison did get
Jayden Shafer into scoring position at second, but a flyout in the next at-bat helped Henderson preserve the win.
On Tuesday, April 23 at 2:00 p.m., the Bison will play its final non-conference game of the season when it visits Northeastern State.
