EDMOND, Okla. (April 24, 2019) – Things started well enough for Oklahoma Christian on Wednesday night against Washburn (Kan.). The Eagles scored three first-inning runs and still led by that margin after three innings.
But Washburn then put together consecutive three-run innings and the Eagles never recovered, falling 10-5 in a game played at Central Oklahoma's Wendell Simmons Field after heavy rain Tuesday rendered OC's Dobson Field unplayable.
OC (27-15) learned earlier Wednesday it was tied for fifth in the all-important NCAA Division II South Central Region baseball rankings, but the Eagles dropped a third straight game for the first time all season when facing Washburn (21-19) in their final nonconference game of the regular season.
Six OC pitchers combined to give up 17 hits to the Ichabods, 16 of those singles. Javis Larson led Washburn, going 4 for 4, while Michael Oyervides had three hits and Wyatt Featherston drove in three runs.
Meanwhile, Washburn pitching retired 13 straight Eagles in one stretch. OC managed only eight hits and went without a hit between
Grant Lake's leadoff single in the second inning and
Hunter Markwardt's one-out infield single in the eighth.
Consecutive singles by Markwardt,
Callen Crockett and
Blake Empkey to start the game, and a fourth single by
Garrett Wages later in the inning, staked the Eagles to a 3-0 lead. OC starter
Casey Minchey (1-1) held that lead until running into trouble in the fourth inning, giving up three runs, two on a game-tying double down the left-field line by Lane Harvey.
The Ichabods scored three more runs with two outs in the fifth against Minchey, with Featherston's two-run single up the middle the big blow.
Washburn added four more runs in the final three innings against the Eagles' bullpen to build its lead to 10-3. OC scored twice in the ninth, as
Jayvien Joseph – making his first varsity appearance – reached on an error and scored on a double by
Kevin Collyar. Collyar later scored on a single by Lake.
Markwardt went 2 for 4 to extend his hitting streak to 28 games.
Washburn reliever Skyler Proctor (2-0) retired all six batters he faced to pick up the pitching win.
OC's final six games will be against Heartland Conference foes, all on the road. The Eagles will play a three-game series at St. Mary's (Texas) on Friday and Saturday, then will visit Rogers State on May 3-4.
