BETHANY, OKLA. – The East Central University baseball team split the double-header to start the Great American Conference series at Southern Nazarene. The Tigers (10-27, 9-20 GAC) started with an 8-12 loss and then came-from-behind to win game two 8-6.
ECU saw seven players hit over .325 for the day and two of those hit .500. Senior
Kodiak O'Ravez led the team with a .500 average, three hits and two runs. Senior
Trevor Huie added a .500 average, two hits and an RBI.
Junior
Brandon Dusenberry picked up the win on the mound, throwing a complete seven-inning game, allowing eight hits and six runs, while striking out six.
The teams will wrap up the series, Monday, April 24 at 2 p.m. before hosting Southeastern in the final series of the 2017 regular season next weekend.
ECU 8, SNU 6
The Crimson Storm (6-37, 4-25 GAC) started the scoring in game two, with a run in the first and three in the third for the 0-4 advantage.
The Tigers then took control of the game in the fourth. After the first out, junior
Connor Stevenson and O'Ravez were walked. That allowed senior
JT Stevenson to earn an RBI with a single to left center. Junior
Austin LoBue was then walked to load the bases, allowing junior
Jacob Cowling to get an RBI by drawing a walk and cut the deficit to two (2-4).
The fifth inning was key for the ECU win, as they tallied six runs for the 8-4 lead. Seniors
Jake MeKeel and
Kaleb Matthews singled to put a runner in scoring position for
Connor Stevenson with his single through the left side.
O'Ravez kept things going with a single that loaded the bases, and that allowed a run to score on a wild pitch. Junior
Dalton Etheredge drew a walk to reload the bases and set up
JT Stevenson for an RBI with a walk.
After the first out was recorded, Cowling added two more runs with a single. Junior
Kade Hayes was then walked to load the bases, before MeKeel was also walked to score the final run.
SNU tried to mount a come-back of its own in the seventh, but were only able to score two runs for the 8-6 final.
SNU 12, ECU 8
In the opening game of the day, ECU jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, with four runs in the third. Etheredge garnered a one-out triple and was sent home on MeKeel's single. Matthews was walked and
Connor Stevenson singled to load the bases.
After the second out,
JT Stevenson hit a single through the right side to score a run and leave the bases loaded. Redshirt junior
Josh Reeves earned an RBI with a walk and the final run scored when Huie singled.
The Crimson Storm cut into the deficit with a single run in the third, but the Tigers responded with a run in the fourth to push the lead back to 5-1.
Etheredge and MeKeel singled down the left line, but when Matthews hit into a double-play it still allowed a run to score.
ECU added to the lead in the sixth on a two-run home run by
Connor Stevenson for the 7-1 advantage.
The seventh saw SNU take over the game, scoring six runs to tie the score at seven. The Crimson Storm then added five more runs in the eighth for the 7-12 advantage.
The Tigers added one more run in the ninth on a Hayes walk and single from Matthews, but it was not enough and they fell 8-12.
