SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist Baseball had a well improved offensive presence, taking the second game of the series but falling off in the series finale.
The OBU offense certainly showed up today after a tough start to the series with Harding Friday night. Saturday's action saw the spirits high following the Senior Day festivities, landing the Bison a big 14-6 win over Harding to start off the day's action. The green and gold offense continued to show up in the series final but some struggle from the staff overpowered any comeback efforts for the home team, closing out the series with a 22-14 final for HU.
Game 2
In the first game of the day, OBU struck first with a pair of runs to get things in motion in the opening stanza. Harding made their way to the board with a couple of runs in the third inning but the green and gold added another in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead. The fourth inning saw three across for both teams, but the Bison kept coming in the fifth inning, adding another four to the board and continuing to bury the visitors with another four-run inning in the sixth. The top of the seventh saw Harding tally their last run but the OBU offense was too far gone, leading to a green and gold victory, 14-6.
OBU had 14 runs on 18 hits with no errors. The Bison compiled five homeruns, one double, and 14 RBI.
Spencer Dickinson had two homers to lead the Bison, finishing the first game 3-5 at the plate with three RBI.
Keenan Morris had a homer, finishing 3-5 at the plate with five RBI.
Lucas Schaefer finished 1-6 at the plate with a homer and two RBI.
Jayden Shafer went 2-5 at the plate with a homer and one RBI.
DJ Van Atten had the lone double in Game 2, finishing 1-5 at the plate with one RBI.
Marcus Peters (W, 4-1) got the win for the Bison after 5.2 innings on the mound, giving up five earned runs on nine hits, walking three and striking out five.
Nick Meyer came in for 0.2 innings, giving up one earned run on two hits, with no walks and one strikeout.
William Ellis came in to close, with 2.2 innings spent on the bump, giving up no runs, one hit, two walks and four strikeouts.
Game 3
In the series finale, the visitors capitalized on some rough patches from OBU, resulting in a 22-14 final.
Harding was first on the board with a solo run across. OBU did not hold back, totaling eight runs in the bottom of the first. Both teams continued to trend upward offensively in the second inning as HU tacked on three more runs and the home team added a couple. Harding put up another run in the top of the third and nine in the fourth inning to take the lead. The Bison responded with three runs in the bottom of the fourth for a 14-13 total for the visitors. In the fifth inning, Harding added another four runs to extend the lead. Another run came across for each team in the sixth frame. The top of the seventh saw another three runs on the board for Harding, sealing the deal on a big 22-14 win to take the rubber match and the series.
OBU totaled 14 runs on 11 hits with two errors.
Van Atten had the only home run in the finale, finishing 3-5 at the plate with three RBI.
Zane Bennett added a double for the Bison, going 2-4 at the plate with two RBI.
Bryant Thornton got the start for the green and gold with 3.2 innings pitched, giving up eight runs (six earned) on seven hits, four walks and one strikeout.
Jalen Johnston (L, 2-2) took the loss after going 0.0 innings on the mound, giving up four runs (three earned) on no hits, walking two and striking out none.
Javarian Roquemore made a 1.1 inning appearance, giving up six runs (five earned) on on three hits, walking three and striking out two.
Tyler Biggs came in to close, going 2.0 innings on the bump, giving up four earned runs on two hits, walking one and striking out none.
Next up for OBU is a midweek meeting with East Central in Shawnee on April 15. The matchup with the Tigers will see a 5 p.m. first pitch.
