EDMOND, OKLA. – The East Central University baseball team struggled to get its bats going in two losses to No. 28 Central Oklahoma in non-conference action. The Tigers fell 6-0 in the opening game of the day, before ending the second game with a 12-2 loss.
The Tigers (1-6) tallied 11 hits in the two outings, with sophomore
Cale Ridling being the only player to earn two hits and a run. Senior
Trevor Crone scored the second run of the day and was one of three players to record a double.
ECU hit .220 as a team, while the Bronchos (4-4) hit .410 on 25 hits, including 12 extra base hits.
Junior
Alec Lemmon led a group of five players to step on the mound, recording seven strikeouts in 4.0 innings, while junior
Chris Sanchez added six Ks.
The Tigers will now get ready to play their first games in Great American Conference action on the road, Feb. 16-17 at Arkansas-Monticello.
UCO 6, ECU 0
The opening game of the day saw the Bronchos take an early 1-0 lead in the first inning. UCO then added at least one run in all but the sixth inning to claim the 6-0 final.
Sanchez threw a complete game for ECU, allowing six runs and 12 hits.
UCO 12, ECU 2 (7)
The Tigers came out strong in the second game, taking a 1-0 lead after the top of the first. Ridling started the game with a single and was advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from senior
Bryce Dimitroff. That allowed junior
Yan-Eric Tremblay to earn the RBI with a double down the right side.
UCO countered with a run in the bottom of the inning to knot the game at one. Both teams held each other scoreless until the bottom of the fourth inning.
The Bronchos scored a run in the fourth, added six in the fifth and one in the sixth to push the lead to 9-1.
ECU tried to cut into the deficit in the seventh. After the first out, Crone and senior
Connor Stevenson hit back-to-back doubles to score a run. However, the single run was all the Tigers could get across the plate for a 9-2 disadvantage.
UCO then tallied three runs in the bottom of the seventh to force the run-rule into effect, ending the game with a 12-2 final.