OKLAHOMA CITY (April 19, 2019) – Arkansas-Fort Smith seized control with a four-run second inning and held off a late comeback attempt by Oklahoma Christian to win 7-4 on Friday afternoon in the decisive game of a three-game Heartland Conference baseball series at Dobson field.

OC (27-14, 9-6 Heartland), ranked seventh in the South Central Region, remained in third place in the league standings but missed a chance to put some distance between itself and fourth-place UAFS (21-16, 8-7), which now trails the Eagles by only a game with six league games remaining for both teams.

The top four teams will qualify for the Heartland postseason tournament. Seven of the league's eight teams are within two games of a potential berth. OC's final six Heartland games will be on the road – a three-game series at St. Mary's (Texas) next weekend and a season-ending three-game series at second-place Rogers State.

"We just didn't come out to play," OC coach Lonny Cobble said. "We just keep shooting ourselves in the foot, making the same young mistakes. I keep trying to tell myself we're young, but at some point, those guys have to start not making those mistakes. That's the biggest thing – let's learn from our mistakes and not make them again."

Arkansas-Fort Smith had half of its 10 hits in the second inning against OC starter Zachary Pape (5-3), including a RBI singles by Brooks Sunny and Brandan Warner and a two-out, run-scoring double by Logan Allen. The Lions tacked on another run in the third when Kyle Love singled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Spencer Sockett to make it 5-0.

OC reliever Jake Tomcheck came on in the fifth inning and allowed only one hit and one run in four innings of work, giving the Eagles a chance to rally. In the sixth, Hunter Markwardt and Austin Stokes both singled and scored, but UAFS answered with a run in the top of the seventh to make it 6-2.

Markwardt and Stokes, who each had three hits (more than half of OC's 11 for the game) started off the eighth inning with a triple and double, respectively, off UAFS pitcher Cooper Van Kooten (3-2) – who made only his second start of the season – and Stokes scored on a single by Kevin Collyar to pull the Eagles within 6-4.

But the Eagles left two runners on base to end the inning, and after the Lions scored an insurance run in the top of the ninth, OC again stranded two runners in their final opportunity, giving UAFS reliever Foster Pace his second save in as many games after entering the series with only one all season.

"We let (Van Kooten) settle in and we didn't seem motivated until about the sixth," Cobble said. "By then it's too late. We just didn't come up today ready to hit and play."

Markwardt extended his hitting streak to 27 games, thought to be both an OC and Heartland Conference record.

OC will play its final nonconference game of the regular season at home on Wednesday against Washburn (Kan.) before heading to San Antonio to play St. Mary's on Friday and Saturday.

"We've got some work to do," Cobble said. "We need to win the next two series – that's the biggest thing. That should get us into the tournament."