ADA, Okla. – The East Central University baseball team played their final game of the 2023 season at Ken Turner Field against rivals Southeastern Oklahoma State University, falling 7-2 in the finale.
Before the start of the game, ECU honored its baseball seniors –
Brian Pasha,
Justin Chitty,
Michael Rosario,
Kyle Busker, and Roman 'Bo' Duren, who would have been a part of this senior class but tragically passed away in a vehicle accident his freshman year.
Both teams battled hard during the first three innings, combining for just three hits and no runs seeing which team would reach the scoreboard first.
Southeastern responded the next frame after a dribbler to second allowed a Savage Storm run and a 1-0 lead.
Two scoreless innings went by before Southeastern added another run in the top of the sixth to double their lead, but an RBI single from
Duncan Key in the home half put the game back within one with the Tigers trailing 2-1.
The seventh inning would be the decision, though, as Southeastern managed to tab four runs on three hits to expand their lead to 6-1 late in the game.
The Tigers added their second run in the home half after
Cooper Hunt drew a bases-loaded hit by pitch to score
Britton Sperry, but the Savage Storm countered in the next inning with a run of their own to bring their lead back out to five runs.
ECU could not come back from the deficit and closed out the 2023 season with a 7-2 loss.
Ian Mason took the loss, going 7.0 innings while giving up six runs on eight hits and striking out five batters.
Bryce Crawford and
Kaleb Dent both saw 0.2 innings of action, while
Justin Chitty and
Brian Pasha wrapped up their careers by striking out their batter.
Cooper Hunt,
Duncan Key, and
Christian Whitaker had two hits, while
Britton Sperry and
Nolan Herchock had one.
Individual ECU Careers:
- Brian Pasha finished his four-year career as a right-handed pitcher appearing in 39 games, pitching 50.1 innings, and striking out 35 batters.
- Justin Chitty finished his four-year career as a right-handed pitcher appearing in 42 games, pitching 81.1 innings, and striking out 42 batters.
- Michael Rosario finished his four-year career playing in 69 games while starting in 63, recording 30 runs, 47 hits, seven doubles, three triples, three home runs, and 29 RBIs.
- Kyle Busker finished his four-year career playing in 65 games while starting in 38, and amassing 15 runs, 26 hits, nine doubles, one home run and 15 RBIs.
