OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 15, 2014) – A batch of wildness kept Oklahoma Christian on Saturday from finishing a three-game sweep of Pittsburg State (Kan.) in the season-opening series for both teams.

Left-hander Kelby Reneau pitched five strong innings to lead OC to an 8-1 win in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday at Putnam City High School's Pirate Field, but OC pitchers hit eight batters and walked four others in the second game, allowing the Gorillas to cruise to a 12-2 win.

Still, OC (2-1) won the series, which pleased coach Lonny Cobble.

"It's a very unselfish team and they play hard," he said. "They play good together. I think they're excited about showing up at the ballpark every day. We're not going to hang our heads. We won two of three. We'd of like to have had three, but that's baseball sometimes."

Reneau (1-0) gave up just four hits and one run in the first game and received considerable offensive support. A.J. Florence went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs, leading the Eagles' 12-hit attack. The Eagles also took advantage of eight errors by Pittsburg State (1-2) – of OC's eight runs, only two were earned.

OC jumped on Pittsburg State starter George Brandecker (0-1) for two runs and three hits – including one of Florence's doubles – in the first inning. The Eagles went up 3-0 in the second, with Jordan Lopez singling and scoring on an error.

Kyle Dickens doubled and scored on Luke Bordewick's single in the top of the fifth, pulling the Gorillas within 3-1, but OC answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning as Pittsburg State committed three errors. Two more errors in the sixth led to two more OC runs.

Dillon Endecott relieved Reneau to start the sixth inning and pitched two perfect innings for the Eagles.

"Kelby did a really good job," Cobble said. "He kind of picked up where he left off last year, throwing well for us. Kelby is going to get better and better. With the lead we had, we thought that five innings was good enough. We wanted to get him out on a good note. Dillon Endecott came in and threw well. We're excited about having Endecott in the bullpen for us this year."

Cody Rosecrans went 3-for-3 and Cameron Keener added a pair of hits for OC.

OC starter Tyler Sturges (0-1) had a rough outing in the second game, walking two batters and hitting four during 2 1/3 innings. His brother, Dylon Sturges, was one strike away from escaping what had been a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the third inning before Dickens smashed a no-doubt grand slam over the left-field wall. That put the Gorillas ahead 5-0 and they stretched that lead to 7-0 in the top of the sixth.

"You can't dig yourself a hole like that," Cobble said. "I take the responsibility. Tyler didn't have his best stuff, which really surprised me. He gets out of two jams in the first two innings and was struggling. I probably should have taken him out and let Dylon start the third with a clean slate. I kind of bit the bullet on that."

Meanwhile, Pittsburg State starter Nate Arnold (1-0) had a perfect game entering the sixth inning before OC's Caden Cleveland doubled off the wall, just inside the right-field foul pole. Zac Cobble reached on a catcher's interference play. Garrett Stephenson delivered a two-out, two-run single to score Cleveland and Cobble and end the shutout.

But Pittsburg State jumped on OC reliever Ryan Nash for five runs on five hits in the seventh. Cody Ball hit a two-run double during the inning and finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs for the Gorillas.

OC will return to action on Tuesday afternoon at Southwestern Oklahoma State.