Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 OKLAHOMA CITY (April 12, 2014) – Luke Sandoval complemented Oklahoma Christian's hot hitting with a pitching gem as the Eagles rolled to a doubleheader sweep of Ecclesia (Ark.) on Saturday afternoon at Dobson Field.

Sandoval allowed only three hits in 6 2/3 innings as OC beat the Royals 5-1 in the opener and the Eagles posted their fourth straight double-digit hits game in the series finale en route to a 10-6 win.

Markus Carr and Robert Rosser homed during the doubleheader for OC (24-12), which also beat Ecclesia (23-20) on Friday night. OC, ranked No. 8 in the NCAA Division II South Central Region, will take a four-game winning streak into a showdown Monday at NAIA No. 1-ranked Oklahoma Baptist. OC downed the Bison earlier this season.

After that comes another rivalry game Tuesday at Oklahoma City University before a key Heartland Conference series at home against league-leading Lubbock Christian (Texas).

"Hopefully we'll continue to play hot," OC coach Lonny Cobble said. "We have a huge week in front of us, with OCU, OBU and Lubbock – probably our toughest test so far, our toughest week so far. It doesn't get any easier the week after that, with St. Mary's (Texas). … We're looking forward to the next three weeks to finish up a good season and hopefully finish strong."

In the opener against Ecclesia, Sandoval (2-1) put together arguably his finest outing during his three seasons at OC. Through six innings, the junior right-hander from Weatherford had allowed just one hit and he picked that runner, Eckersley Villasmil, off second base, meaning he'd faced the minimum 18 batters to that point.

He ran into trouble in the seventh, allowing a leadoff single to Shane Pepper. Sandoval recorded two quick outs, but Villasmil ended his shutout with a run-scoring double and Guy Halbert walked. Dillon Endecott relieved Sandoval and threw one pitch – coaxing a groundout from Osvaldo Rosas – to end the game and record his sixth save of the baseball season.

"Luke did a really good job," Cobble said. "He's coming off that injury and now he's back to full strength. We really need him to step up and finish out the year on a positive note for us. He's really took a big leap toward doing that today. … Through four innings, he had thrown only 32 pitches, so he was being real effective with what he was doing."

Garrett Stephenson had a pair of RBIs and Carr contributed a two-run homer over the left-field fence in the third inning off Ecclesia starter Justin Southerland, providing all of the offense Sandoval needed. The Eagles finished with 11 hits.

Cobble went with a lineup of mostly reserves in the second game, but the Eagles didn't miss a beat offensively.

After Ecclesia took a 1-0 lead, Rosser started off a two-run first inning for OC with a double. Ecclesia tied the game at 2-2 in the second against OC starter Kacy Cook, but the Eagles answered again in the bottom of the inning, with Cody Rosecrans keying a two-run outburst with a double off Ecclesia starter Gerry Sifuentes.

A solo home run by Alec Naifeh off OC reliever Tyler Schuman pulled the Royals within 4-3 in the top of the fourth, but OC responded with five runs in the bottom of the inning, including a leadoff home run by Rosser over the center-field fence. Jackson Matthews later added a two-run double down the left-field line and Kolton Brown followed with another double before scoring on Chandler Allen's sacrifice fly.

That made it 9-3 and the Eagles weren't seriously threatened after that. Reliever Dylon Sturges (2-2) was credited with the pitching win for OC after throwing a scoreless fifth inning.

Rosser and Blake Stringer had three hits each for OC while Zac Cobble and Rosecrans had two apiece. Those four, at the top of the OC batting order, combined to go 10-for-14 as the Eagles finished with 12 hits.

"That's a lot of fun, getting to see some of the young guys get in," Cobble said. "Let them start a game and let them get their feet really wet. I thought it was good for those guys. Plus, it keeps them motivated and keeps them kind of energized. We wanted to see those guys get to play, because they've worked hard all year and they deserve to get to play some."

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