Chris Miller's ninth-inning single capped a four-run rally, lifting OC past Southern Nazarene 5-4 during the Eagles' baseball season opener on Tuesday.

OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 6, 2012) – Chris Miller's single scored Dillon Andrews to cap a four-run ninth-inning rally and give Oklahoma Christian a 5-4 win over Southern Nazarene in the baseball season opener for both teams on Monday afternoon at Dobson Field.

Five of OC's nine hits came during the ninth inning, off SNU left-handed relievers Chris Eastham and Nate Saquilon. The big blow was Andrews' two-run, one-out triple to right-center field off Saquilon (0-1) that tied the game at 4-4.

One out later, Miller blooped a curveball from Saquilon over the infield, giving OC reliever Harrison Mendez (1-0) the win after he'd shut down the Crimson Storm in the top of the ninth inning.

"I just kept my hands back and tried to put it over the first baseman's head," Miller said. "It fell for me the right way today.

"Coming out in the first game and winning in the bottom of the ninth like that, that is honestly what makes baseball fun to me. Being the guy who has to come up and make the game-winning hit is honestly what all of us play for. It's the best feeling ever. I'm on the biggest high right now that I can't even explain."

Thanks to the rally, OC (1-0) survived a sloppy defensive effort that included four errors, although coach Chuck White noted the Eagles also turned in some defensive gems that kept them from falling behind even further before their bats finally got going.

"We were kind of like that last year – we started slow and finished strong," White said. "I'd prefer the other way around, but you take what you can get. We finally woke up.

"We've got to be offensive early. We've got to take some pressure off of our defense and off of our pitching."

SNU (0-1) took a quick 2-0 lead on Saquilon's two-run home run over the right-field fence off OC starter Ryan Morris. Morris rebounded to strike out the side on just 10 pitches in the second inning and lasted four innings before giving way to Ryan Nash.

SNU went up 3-0 in the seventh, as James Tunnell's single scored Austin Samulowitz, who had doubled. The Crimson Storm picked up an unearned run in the eighth, as Saquilon doubled and eventually scored on an error by Nash.

Down 4-0, OC opened the eighth inning with a double by Andrews and an RBI triple by Heath Steele, but Saquilon fanned Miller, Wes Dorough and Jerry Owen to end the threat.

Garrett Stephenson opened OC's ninth with a single to left-center field. Evan Draper followed with a double, scoring Stephenson and chasing Eastham. Draper was thrown out on a grounder by Caleb Price, but Tanner Hessman singled to send Price to third. Andrews then drilled a pitch by Saquilon to right field to tie the game, setting the stage for Miller's heroics.

Morris allowed four hits and fanned five batters, while Nash also allowed four hits while striking out four.

"When I look at the game, the strength today was pitching – Morris, Nash and Harrison," White said. "They all came in and made quality pitches."

The nonconference game against one of OC's oldest Sooner Athletic Conference rivals was added to the schedule after both the Eagles and SNU lost scheduled games against St. Mary (Kan.) last weekend due to weather.