ALVA, OKLA. – The East Central University baseball team split a doubleheader at Northwestern Oklahoma State in Great American Conference action.  The Tigers (2-13, 2-4 GAC) took the first game 15-14 before falling 6-8 in the night cap.

ECU was led by junior Riley Roberts, who hit .625 for the day with three runs, five hits and an RBI.  Junior Jake McKeel added a .556 batting average, three runs, five hits and six RBIs.

Sophomore Kyle Britt picked up the win on the mound for the Tigers, throwing the first 6.1 innings in game one.  He allowed 11 hits and seven runs, while striking out four.

ECU will now prepare for a three-game road series at Ouachita Baptist, March 4-5.  A single game is set for Friday, March 4 at 2 p.m. and a doubleheader Saturday, March 5 at noon.

East Central 15, Northwestern 14
The Rangers opened the scoring, with a single run in the first inning. However, the Tigers responded with two runs to gain the advantage in the top of the second.

Junior Trevor Huie started things with a one-out single and was sent home on a double from junior Kaleb Matthews.  Matthews went to third on a wild pitch, which allowed him to score when McKeel hit a single down the left field line.

ECU added to the lead with two more runs in the fourth.  Huie reached due to an error and went around when McKeel hit his team-leading second home run of the year for a 4-1 lead.

NWOSU cut into the deficit with two runs in the fifth inning to get within one (4-3).

Then in the sixth, the Tigers really got going, scoring six runs for a 10-3 advantage.

McKeel and junior Kodiak O'Ravez both reached due to errors and ended up on second and third before the first out.  Roberts loaded the bases when he was hit by a pitch and the first run came across the plate when junior JT Stevenson was hit.  Junior Thomas McGarry, senior Kris Molter and Matthews all earned RBIs with bases-loaded walks and McKeel scored the final two runs with a single.

The Rangers added a run in the sixth for a 10-4 score, but ECU again tallied four runs to push the lead out to 14-4 in the seventh.

Roberts started the inning with a double, Stevenson singled and McGarry earned the RBI with a single to the pitcher.  After two outs were recorded, Matthews added two runs with a double and McKeel sent a run home with a single.
In the bottom of the seventh, NWOSU tried to make a come-back, cutting the lead to four with six runs (14-10).

However, the Tigers responded with a run in the eighth for a 15-10 advantage.  Stevenson reached due to an error that put him on second.  He then went to third on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch.

The Rangers did now go away quietly, scoring two runs in the eighth and ninth innings for a 15-14 score.  The runs in the ninth came before any outs were recorded and a runner was on third.  However, the ECU defense held on for the 15-14 win.

Northwestern 8, East Central 6
The Tigers got on the scoreboard first, with a single run in the first inning.  Roberts singled and scored when McGarry singled up the middle.

The Rangers put up two runs in the first, a run in the second, two in the third and three in the sixth for a 1-8 advantage.

This time is was ECU's turn to try for a comeback, but fell just short when they scored five runs in the seventh inning.

After the first out, redshirt junior David Fernandez was walked and McKeel singled.  The second out was then put in the books, but O'Ravez singled through the left side to score the first run.  Junior Kristian De La Toree loaded the bases with a fielder's choice that had an error.

Senior Casey Kenney, Roberts and Huie all walked to score three runs and McGarry was hit by a pitch for the final run.