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Box Score 2 OKLAHOMA CITY (March 24, 2015) – For the first 11 innings of Oklahoma Christian's doubleheader on Tuesday with Arkansas Tech, OC mostly held the Wonder Boys' offense in check.
But Arkansas Tech – which has been one of the top teams in NCAA Division II baseball in recent years – eventually got its bats going, and in a big way. The Wonder Boys batted around twice in the final three innings of the second game en route to a 15-5 win at Dobson Field.
That gave Arkansas Tech a split, as the above-mentioned quality pitching lifted the Eagles to a 6-1 win in the first game, extending OC's season-long winning streak to seven games.
OC (16-10) received a strong outing from starting pitcher
Brennan Walker in the opener. Walker (1-0), a junior right-hander from Oklahoma City, threw a season-long six innings and allowed only three hits.
Meanwhile, the Eagles jumped on Arkansas Tech starter Geofferey Birkemeier (3-1) early, knocking him out in the second inning.
Ben McKenzie's two-run single in the first put OC on the board. In the second inning,
Kyle Lacy's triple scored
Zac Cobble, who had singled, and
Derek Jones and
Brady Baugh later added run-scoring singles.
OC extended the lead to 6-0 in the fifth as Jones – who went 4-for-4 – singled and scored on a groundout by Baugh.
Arkansas Tech (17-12) finally broke through against Walker in the sixth, but scored only one run. OC catcher
Caden Cleveland alertly picked Arkansas Tech baserunner Patrick Castleberry off first base to end the inning.
Matt Brown pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning to close the game for OC.
Through four innings of the second game, the Eagles appeared to have a shot at a sweep. Starter
Luke Sandoval allowed two Arkansas Tech runs in the first inning but none during the next three innings, and OC rallied to take a 3-2 lead on a solo home run by
Cody Rosecrans in the fourth off reliever Cody Jones (4-1).
But the Wonder Boys jumped on two OC relievers in the fifth for five runs and seven hits. They did it again in the sixth, scoring six runs against three more OC relievers, turning a close game into a runaway.
Every Arkansas Tech starter scored at least one run. Keenan Jumper had five RBIs to lead the Wonder Boys while Rafiel Johnson had three.
Jared Price (3-1) took the pitching loss for OC.
The Eagles will go on the road on Friday and Saturday for a Heartland Conference series against Newman (Kan.). Game time in Wichita on Friday will be noon.