BOLIVAR, MO. – The East Central University baseball team dropped both games of a double-header at Southwest Baptist, falling 18-8 in game one and 11-4 in the night cap.

The Tigers (1-3) were led by sophomore Cale Ridling, with a .667 average, three runs, four hits, a double, two home runs and two RBIs.  Senior Bryce Dimitroff added a .429 average, two runs, three hits, a home run and three RBIs.

Juniors Yan-Eric Tremblay and Alec Lemmon each earned a start on the mound and threw four innings.  Tremblay allowed six hits and seven runs, while striking out six.  Lemmon allowed eight runs and hits and struck out nine.

ECU will now get ready for a three-game series at Central Oklahoma, Feb. 10-11.  The teams will first play a double-header, Saturday, Feb. 10 starting at noon and a single game, Sunday, Feb. 11 at noon.

SBU 18, ECU 8
The Tigers were the first to score, pulling out to a 3-0 lead after the top of the second.  Senior Connor Stevenson led off the inning with a single and was advanced to third when Ridling doubled.  Junior Tag Sparks earned an RBI with a ground out to second. 

Freshman Garrett Oldham continued the inning with a walk, allowing junior Josh Lincoln to earn and RBI with a single.  Dimitroff reached due to an error and senior Trevor Crone sent the final run across the plate with a sacrifice fly.
The Bearcats (3-1) cut into the lead with a single run in the second and then gained the advantage with four runs in the third (5-3).

ECU got a run back in the fourth after a single, sacrifice bunt and a double by Lincoln (5-4).

The fifth is when SBU took control of the game for good, scoring 11 runs for a 16-4 lead.

The Tigers countered with four runs in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to 16-8.  Oldham singled and Lincoln reached on an error, putting two runners on when Dimitroff hit a home run for the first three runs.  After an out, Washington reached due to an error and was sent home when senior Zach Trueblood doubled.

The final runs of the game were scored by the Bearcats in the sixth, netting two runs for the 18-8 final.

SBU 11, ECU 4
The Tigers got the scoring started right away in the top of the first inning, taking a 2-0 lead.  After the first out, Dimitroff reached due to an error and Crone was hit by a pitch.  Both runners then advanced on a passed ball, allowing Trueblood to earn an RBI with a single to short.  A wild pitch sent the second run home.

The Bearcats responded immediately, scoring three runs to take a 3-2 lead after the first.  SBU then added four runs in the second to push the advantage to 7-2.

ECU got a run back in the fourth on a home run by Ridling (7-3).  However, the Bearcats added two runs in the fifth to gain the 9-3 lead.

The Tigers again cut into the deficit in the sixth, but only added a single run on Ridling's second home run of the game (9-4).

SBU added two more runs in the sixth for the 11-4 final.