SHAWNEE -- Missouri–St. Louis used a barrage of late offense to pull away from Oklahoma Baptist, scoring 12 runs over the final four innings to secure a 16–8 victory Monday afternoon at Bobby Cox Field.
Oklahoma Baptist jumped out quickly, plating four runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Ben Green opened the frame with a double, and despite an early out, the Bison capitalized on defensive miscues. Sacrifice flies from
Tui Amosa and
Zane Bennett, along with an RBI single from
Keenan Morris, helped OBU take a 4–0 lead.
The Bison added two more in the second as Amosa and
Alex Sanchez delivered RBI hits to extend the advantage to 6–0.
UMSL began chipping away in the fifth. After loading the bases, Gabe Strenger drew a walk to force in a run before Ayden Cline cleared the bases with a three-run double, cutting the deficit to 6–4. The Tritons took control in the seventh, scoring three times on a sacrifice fly from Garrett Strenger, an RBI single by Cline, and a sacrifice fly from Bennett Cagle to grab a 7–6 lead.
The turning point came in the eighth when Missouri–St. Louis erupted for five runs. Mitch Bonczkowski drove in a run with a double, and Luke Saxton delivered the big blow with a three-run double down the left-field line. Cagle added another RBI to push the lead to 12–6.
OBU answered with a two-run homer by Amosa in the bottom of the eighth, but the Tritons put the game out of reach in the ninth. Cline crushed a three-run home run to left-center, finishing the day with seven RBI, as Missouri–St. Louis closed out the scoring.
Bryce Stenzel earned the win with two scoreless innings in relief, striking out five. Oklahoma Baptist collected 13 hits, led by Sanchez's four-hit performance, but couldn't slow UMSL's late surge as the Tritons evened the series finale with a decisive offensive showing.
Tomorrow at 3 p.m. the green and gold will host Arkansas Fort Smith.
