EDMOND, Okla. (March 26, 2019) – For the first time since the Oklahoma Christian-Central Oklahoma baseball series resumed in 2017, the Eagles are champions of the collegiate version of Edlam baseball.

Hunter Markwardt, Blake Empkey and Alex Garcia combined for 10 hits, seven RBIs and five runs scored as OC took a commanding early lead, then held on for an 8-5 win over UCO on Tuesday night at Wendell Simmons Field.

OC (18-7) has won the first two of three scheduled games this season against UCO (16-10), both of those played at UCO. The final game of the season series is set for April 10 at OC's Dobson Field.

Just as – if not more – important for the Eagles, who are ranked seventh in the South Central Region, they were able to pick up a road win over a quality opponent. OC now is 5-1 this season against Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association teams and 8-0 against NCAA Division II opponents from Oklahoma.

"It's big to take the series from these in-town guys," OC coach Lonny Cobble said. "UCO has a good team. We have a big weekend in front of us and this is good to build on to get into this weekend. We've got some guys starting to heat up a bit at the plate and we're pretty excited about that part of it. We just have to keep getting better, one game at a time."

Early on, it looked like OC might run away from the Bronchos. Empkey's first career home run was a two-run shot over the left-field wall in the first inning off UCO starter Ty Medina (1-1). UCO pulled within 2-1 in the second, when former OC player Brock Ruminer doubled and scored, but a two-run single by Garcia – who went 4 for 4 – in the third extended OC's lead to 4-1.

Empkey's two-run single keyed a three-run fourth for OC that made it 7-1. Empkey, who went 3 for 5 with four RBIs, doubled down the left-field line and scored on an opposite-field single by Garcia in the sixth and the Eagles led 8-1.

The Bronchos chipped away at that margin the rest of the game against OC's bullpen, scoring once in each of the final four innings T.K. McWherter hit a RBI double in the sixth. UCO left the bases loaded in both the seventh and eighth innings, with OC reliever Hayden Barber shutting down one threat and Jake Tomcheck the other.

McWherter hit a solo homer off OC closer Jared Price but Price recorded two strikeouts in the ninth while closing out the game. Conner Fryrear (2-0) picked up the pitching win after throwing a scoreless fifth inning for the Eagles.

"We came out, we swung it well and scored early," Cobble said. "The most disappointing thing is from the sixth inning on, we let them go one, one, one, one. We found ourselves in a couple of jams that we just have to be better than. We can't give up runs late. We had all the momentum and tried to give it back to them. Against a team like that, that's dangerous."

OC will host Heartland Conference rival Texas A&M International for a three-game series this weekend. The teams are scheduled to play a 1 p.m. doubleheader Friday and a single game at noon Saturday.