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Box Score 2 OKLAHOMA CITY (March 9, 2017) – Needing some clutch hitting and pitching, Oklahoma Christian turned to a wizened veteran and an eager newcomer on Thursday against No. 19-ranked Lubbock Christian (Texas).
Senior
Jake Baxter's two-run sixth-inning double kick-started what had been a quiet OC offense and freshman left-hander
Gabe Rodery provided both standout relief pitching and the go-ahead double in the seventh inning as the Eagles rallied for a 5-4 win to give them a doubleheader split at Dobson Field.
Lubbock Christian (14-7, 1-1 Heartland Conference) overcame an early deficit to beat OC 11-5 in the baseball series' opening game. OC (12-9, 1-1) and the Chaparrals will play the decisive game at 1 p.m. on Friday.
"
Jake Baxter has done really well the last week-and-a-half," OC coach
Lonny Cobble said. "He's been coming in and getting some extra hitting in and working … on hitting the ball the other way. He's really bought in to that. Rodery is just a player. He was a two- or three-time state champion at Verdigris. There's just something about him. He never gets rattled.
OC starter
Mason McAlister fanned six batters and allowed only two earned runs, but the Eagles trailed the second game 4-1 after five innings, with their only run to that point coming on
Cory Duran's second home run on the day, a solo shot to left-center field in the second inning. But they finally broke through against Lubbock Christian starter Christian Marquez in the sixth.
Chad Kennedy led off with a single to right field and
Zac Bycko walked, with speedster
Drew Wright pinch-running for him. Baxter – the reigning Heartland hitter of the week – smashed his double into the left-center field gap to score both runners and pull the Eagles within a run.
OC had no runners on and two outs in the seventh against reliever Brent Bezio (1-2), but Kennedy and Duran both singled.
Jared Price, pinch-running for Kennedy, went to third base on Duran's single.
Duran soon took off on an attempted steal of second base, but instead of trying to throw Duran out, LCU catcher Chase Simmons instead chose to throw toward third base, to keep Price from attempting a delayed double steal. Simmons' throw hit the third-base bag and bounced away, allowing Price to score to tie the game.
Rodery, who was batting, followed with a double to right-center that scored Duran and gave OC a 5-4 lead. Rodery (2-0) finished his 1 1/3-inning relief stint in the top of the eighth, giving way to
Garett Hill, who escaped a two-on, one-out jam. The Heartland's best closer, senior
Jake Moore, gave up a leadoff single in the ninth but then retired the next three Chaparrals to record his third save.
"Gabe came in and did a great job for us and even got a big hit," Cobble said. "Hill came in and did his job – a guy that's been here three years … and in that situation does a great job getting us out of the inning, and then when you've got one of the top left-handed closers in Division II, you turn it over to him and let him do his thing."
In the opener, OC starter
Dalton Rentz (4-1) looked spectacular early, retiring the first eight Chaparrals he faced in order. Then then wheels suddenly fell off and Lubbock Christian scored six runs with two outs in the third inning, with Caleb Koedyker's three-run homer the big blow. The Chaparrals tacked on four more runs in the fourth, two on a double by Jaime Bustamante.
OC led 3-0 in the first inning after Kennedy's three-run homer over the left-center field wall off Lubbock Christian starter Ricky Contreras, but Contreras (2-0) recovered and went the distance on the mound, allowing the Eagles only two more runs the rest of the way. One came on a solo home run by Duran in the seventh and final inning.
Lonny Cobble discusses the doubleheader:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_E-XL5agxg&feature=em-upload_owner
