OKLAHOMA CITY (March 5, 2021) – Coming off a complete-game four-hit shutout the previous week at Texas A&M International, Oklahoma Christian ace Gabe Rodery looked a little rough in the first inning on Friday night against Texas A&M-Kingsville, surrendering three hits and a couple of runs.

But Rodery quickly settled down and was his usual dominant self over the next six innings, giving the Eagles plenty of time to rally, then pull away for a 7-2 win over TAMUK at Dobson Field in the first of a three-game series between the baseball teams.

Blake Empkey and Coleton Hinkle each drove in a pair of runs for OC (5-3, 4-3 Lone Star Conference), which took advantage of four errors by TAMUK (4-3, 4-3) to score five unearned runs. The win snapped OC's four-game losing streak in the series against the Javelinas, who hadn't lost to OC since 2016.

Rodery (3-0), a senior left-hander from Verdigris, recorded his fifth career double-digit strikeout game by fanning 10 batters, while relievers Cody Johnson and Noah Bates combined for five more strikeouts, meaning 15 of the Javelinas' 27 outs came by the K.

Rodery came up clutch with inning-ending strikeouts of pinch-hitter Matthew Stary in the sixth and Rodriguez in the seventh after TAMUK – which entered the series ranked sixth in the NCAA Division II South Central Region poll – had loaded the bases with two outs in each inning.

Three of the Javelinas' first five batters had hits off Rodery. After singles by Kohl Ullman and Seth Spinn, Damian Rodriguez hit a looper into left field that OC's Drew Wright dove for and nearly caught, but instead went for a two-run double. Those proved to be TAMUK's only runs of the game.

The Javelinas' defense let down their starting pitcher, Kolby Lunsford (1-2), who had eight strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings but gave up single unearned runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings. The last one was self-inflicted by Lunsford, as his attempted throw to first base to try and pick off Kevin Collyar sailed into foul territory, allowing Collyar to race all the way to third base. Empkey followed with the first of his two sacrifice flies, which put OC ahead 3-2.

Consecutive two-out singles by Collyar, Empkey and Michael DiFiore made it 4-2 in the seventh and the Javelinas ended up using five relievers in just 1 1/3 innings in a failed attempt to stop OC's offense. The Eagles tacked on three more insurance runs in the eighth inning, a rally started by a double to right-center field by Grant Lake.

The teams will play again on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.