Game one box
Game two box

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (Feb. 25, 2008) – Oklahoma Christian scored a combined 36 runs on 26 hits to pick up wins of 17-16 and 19-9 over Briar Cliff (Iowa) on Monday at Dobson Field.

A gusting 25-plus miles per hour wind blowing out the right field helped Tyler Gipson hit two home runs in a wild 17-16 win.

Gipson's second round-tripper, a two-run job, came in walk-off style as OC took game one of the doubleheader.

"I was looking for an outside pitch I could hit out to right field where the wind was blowing," Gipson said. "I just wanted to be aggressive and the guy gave me a good fastball to hit."

Gipson finished the day 3-for-4 with the two dingers, six RBI's and two runs scored.

The Eagles fell behind 7-2 after 2.5 innings, but an eight-run third frame put OC back on top.

Jordan Price singled and scored on a wild pitch to start the inning, then Gipson's first homer plated Ray Long and Ryan Harper to make it 7-6.

Price came up again later in the inning and scored three more with a bases-loaded double into left field. Chance Nichols, Tyler Mayo and Chris Burshek all touched home to give OC a 10-6 edge.

But a hot-swinging Briar Cliff club kept battling. The Chargers scored two in the fourth and seven in the fifth to assume a 16-11 lead as the game moved to the bottom of the fifth.

Long hit one his three doubles of the game just inside the left-field line to plate Nichols. Then Jeff Davis drove in Long and Price to make it 16-13.

Tim Dodd held BCC scoreless in the sixth and seventh to set up the home half.

Price worked the inning-opening at-bat for a base on balls. After Long bounced into a fielders choice that erased Price, the speedy centerfielder swiped both second and third base.

Davis then walked and was replaced on the base paths by Ryan Harper. Harper stole second base, and in the process Long charged home after Nicholas Dietrich's throw to second base went into the outfield.

Harper took third on the throw, then Gipson blasted a belt-high fastball out of the yard to send OC to the 17-16 triumph.

"Tyler is a freshman with a lot of potential," OC head coach Chuck White said. "He has the talent to do this type of thing all the time."

Four Eagles had multi-hit games in the win. Long finished the game 3-for-5 with three doubles, two RBI's and two stolen bases. Price was 2-for-3 with three RBI's and Davis was 2-for-3 with two more RBI's.

Dodd picked up the win. The Montrose, Colo., native pitched two innings and struck out one. The sophomore's team-best ERA moved to 1.59 in the effort.

Game two began as ominously as the approaching cold front which swirled dust and debris through the contest's entirety.

The Chargers jumped out 6-0 behind three runs in both the first and second innings.

But the resilient Eagles would not back down. 

OC put eight runs on the board in the bottom of the third inning. Davis highlighted the effort with a laser-beam double down the left-field line that plated Price and Harper.

Gipson brought home two more with a single, then crossed home plate himself when Jay White lifted a line drive into right field.

OC would not give up the lead the rest of the afternoon.

Riley Jones held BCC to just one run in the third and fourth innings combined and the Eagles sent the game to a run-rule conclusion with another eight-spot in the sixth inning.

Price led off the sixth with a wind-carried triple to right field. Long brought Price home with a single, then Josh Balch drove in Long and Davis to make it 14-9.

The Eagles put the Chargers away in grand style. Nichols launched a no-doubter home run over the right-field fence that scored two more runs. Then Price touched all four bases after his line-drive shot cleared the fence in the same area to give OC the 10-run win.

Price, OC's leading hitter at .577, was 2-for-3 in the second game with three RBI's and four runs scored.

Davis and Nichols were also 2-for-3 with 3 RBI's apiece.

Jones moved to 2-0 on the season after a 4.1 inning effort. The Edmond, Okla., native struck out five and allowed nine runs, but only four earned runs.

The Eagles are back on the diamond tomorrow at Hillsdale Free Will Baptist (Okla.) in Moore. OC and HBC will play a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.