PITTSBURG, Kan. – OBU held the highly-touted Augustana offense scoreless through five frames, but a walk with loaded bags at the bottom of the sixth inning pushed the Vikings (46-13, 27-1 NSIC) to a 1-0 victory over Oklahoma Baptist (40-13, 30-13 GAC) on the opening day of the NCAA DII Central Regional tournament.
The Bison look to bounce back as they'll take on Southern Arkansas tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. in a win-or-go-home situation.
Despite allowing six hits, OBU kept AU off home plate until late, thanks to an exceptional effort from pitcher Maggie Place. The freshman struck out three and walked one in 5.1 innings of work.
Kayleigh Jones came in as relief in the middle of the sixth frame and punched out one before walking Augustana's Nico Bellis to allow the opposition's lone score.
Sammie Greene posted OBU's only hit, a single through the left side in the sixth. In the same stanza, Greene would reach third base after an Emily Adler sacrifice bunt and a Morgan Max ground out.
However, a ground out in the Bison's next at-bat shut the door of opportunity. It was the only time Oklahoma Baptist was in scoring position all game.
OBU's single connection is its lowest output since a February 2 contest against Mississippi College.
