KINGSVILLE, Texas - Oklahoma Christian scored a season-high 18 runs in game two of Friday's doubleheader, splitting the pair of contests with (RV) Texas A&M-Kingsville, 3-4 and 18-4.
The maroon-and-gray's 18 runs came on 14 hits, six of which came from
Ruben Castro (3-for-3) and
Jontae Hennesy (3-for-4).
Cole Rager became the first Eagle this season to record two home runs in one game, as he and Hennesy, who also had two hits in game one, each added four RBI to their individual offensive showing.
Brett McComas (2-2) picked up his second straight win in as many starts, going five innings while issuing five strikeouts to just one walk, allowing four runs on four hits.
John Skweres and
Colton Boyd each pitched the final two innings, with Boyd striking out two Javelinas in his one inning of work.
Oklahoma Christian (7-14, 7-14 LSC) will return to Nolan Ryan Field one final time for the series finale against (RV) Texas A&M-Kingsville Saturday, Mar. 7 at 1 p.m. when the Eagles look to even up the four-game series.
Game One: (RV) Texas A&M-Kingsville 4, Oklahoma Christian 3
Four of the game's seven runs came in the very first inning of play. With the first two Eagle batters getting out, OC strung together a pair of two-out hits and a two-out walk to plate the first run of the game, 1-0.
Half of Kingsville's hits and 75 percent of its runs came in the home-half of the frame for the 3-1 lead. Both pitchers settled in as neither team saw a runner reach second base until the fifth inning when TAMUK extended its lead to 4-1.
With the bases loaded in the top of the sixth,
Ruben Venter got Oklahoma Christian within one run with a two-out, two-RBI single, but were unable to bring any more runs across the plate in the seventh as the Javelinas took game one.
Game Two: Oklahoma Christian 18, Texas A&M-Kingsville 4
Oklahoma Christian scored in each of the first six innings in Friday's latter contest. After starting out with a single run in the first, the first six Javelinas batters were retired by McComas and the maroon-and-gray defense. Four more runs over the next two innings gave way to OC's biggest inning of the day.
Leading 5-2 at this point, the Eagles recorded four singles, a three-run home run and a walk all on two outs, opening up the game, 11-2. Another four runs on just two hits came in the fifth before a final three runs, including Rager's second home run of the game, came across the plate in the sixth for the final tally, 18-4.
