Game one box
Game two box

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (April 26, 2008) – The Oklahoma Christian University baseball team wrapped up its first season since 2001 with a pair of losses to Rogers State University (Okla.) on Saturday.

Oklahoma Christian finished the year at 14-27-1 and 6-24 in the rough-and-tumble Sooner Athletic Conference.

A season which began on a warm and sunny late-winter day in February with a 5-4 win over Peru State (Neb.), concluded on a similar blue-sky afternoon against Rogers State.

The outcome was different, however, as RSU took wins of 12-2 and 17-2 to improve to 34-14 and 19-11 in the SAC.

The hot-swinging Hillcats outhit the Eagles 30-8 on the day and scored in every inning of the doubleheader but two.

In game one, RSU took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first when Blake Kelly hit the first of his two home runs over the left-field fence.

The Eagles came back with a run in the home half when Tyler Gipson sacrifice flied Jordan Price across home.

But RSU scored 10 unanswered runs from there, including a five-run sixth inning, to put the game away. The Hillcats had five hits in the sixth, highlighted by a Zach Hamby two-RBI single.

The Eagles scored once in the bottom of the sixth when Ray Long bounced a single through the left side to score Chris Burshek and make it 12-2. But OC added no more as RSU took the run-rule win.

Price (1-for-2), Jeff Davis (1-for-1), Jay White (1-for-3) and Long (1-for-3) had the Eagles' only hits in the setback.

Sam Cornell got the win with a five-inning, six-strikeout effort for RSU. Tyler Sutton (1-5) took the loss with 4 1/3 innings of work and three K's.

In game two RSU needed just five innings to complete the run rule. Two-run frames in the first and second got the ball rolling, then a 10-run explosion in the third put things out of reach.

Travis Harold hit a grand slam with two outs in the third to make it 14-0. Three more runners came across home in the fourth before OC finally got on the board in the bottom of the inning.

After Tyler Gipson drew a leadoff walk, Quaid Johns roped a double to left-center field to plate the third baseman.

The Eagles scored once more in the fifth when Gipson singled to right center, bringing Long home to make it 17-2.

Tyler Whitaker was the winner of game two with three innings of shutout work. Stephen Sutton (0-3) suffered the loss.

Long tallied a 2-for-3 game two at the plate, while Gipson (1-for-1) and Chance Nichols (1-for-3) had OC's other two hits.

Despite Saturday's setbacks, the 2008 season was a smashing success for OC and the return of its baseball program.

With a team laden with freshman and sophomores, the Eagles enjoyed a five-game win streak from March 6 to March 11 to go over the .500 mark. OC took a three-game sweep from SAC-foe Northwestern Oklahoma State in the rally.

Individually, Price's final season average of .437 (62-for-142) is the third highest mark in school history. Only Clint Vaughn's .477 (1997) and Eric Armstrong's .443 (1993) bettered the freshman's year at the plate.

The Eagles, with no seniors on this year's team, have a bright future as they return to the diamond in 2009 with a season of experience and maturity under their belts.

-OC-