FORT SMITH, Ark. (April 25, 2021) – A slew of home runs combined with stellar pitching by
Noah Bates earned Oklahoma Christian a split of its baseball doubleheader on Sunday at Arkansas-Fort Smith.
Grant Lake hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth inning and Bates held the lead with four innings of relief on the mound as the Eagles took the second game at Crowder Field by a 9-8 count, after UAFS had won the opener 12-9 to end OC's five-game winning streak.
OC (22-11, 19-10 Lone Star Conference) moved into sole possession of third place in the LSC standings with the split, as Texas-Tyler lost two of three games in its series against St. Mary's (Texas).
The Eagles hit four homers in their win and six in the doubleheader, with three of them by
Michael DiFiore, who raised his LSC-leading total to 15 this season.
Chance Westervelt hit a solo home run in the first inning of the second game before DiFiore added a two-run shot in the third inning. In the fifth, Lake's homer off UAFS reliever Lukas Petross (0-1) put the Eagles ahead 7-5.
DiFiore's leadoff homer in the seventh made it 8-6. The Lions pulled within 8-7 in the bottom of the inning, but
Blake Empkey walked and scored on an error in the eighth, restoring the Eagles' lead to two runs. Again, UAFS (13-16, 12-14) came within a run, as Cash Balentine delivered a run-scoring single in the bottom of the eighth.
Bates, though, finished off his fifth save of the season by retiring the Lions in order in the ninth inning.
Ryan Hill (2-0) picked up the pitching win for OC with one inning of relief of starter
Jacob Mattox.
DiFiore (who had four RBIs in the opener) hit a two-run homer in the first inning and Empkey added a solo shot in the third, but UAFS seized control with a two-run sixth inning (taking the lead on a solo homer by Dylan Hurt) and never was headed after that.
OC reliever
Ty Dudley (0-4) took the loss while UAFS reliever Nico Sharp (6-2) pitched 4 2/3 innings to earn the win.
The teams will play the rubber match of the three-game series at noon on Monday.