ADA, Okla. – The East Central University baseball team hosted Southern Arkansas University in a three-game Great American Conference home series on Friday and Saturday. Despite initially taking the early lead in games one and two, the Tigers ultimately fell in what ended as a three-game sweep at Ken Turner Field.
 
The Tigers competed in a single game on Friday and a doubleheader on Saturday.
 
Lucas Barnes led the offense over the weekend, collecting three hits and three RBIs while Tyler Akers, DeAngelo Morales, and Krew Taylor had two hits apiece.
 
In the opening game, ECU grabbed an early advantage when Christian Whitaker drew a walk and then came home courtesy of Pryce Jackson's RBI triple to get the Tigers on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning. But SAU responded immediately in the subsequent inning, scoring two runs to take a 2-1 lead.
 
In the home half, Lucas Barnes' RBI single to right field plated Dion Allen, knotting the score 2-all. However, SAU would go on to regain the lead 4-2 in the fourth inning before putting up crooked numbers in the fifth and sixth innings to claim the 19-2 victory.
 
Game two was, unfortunately, more of the same as the Tigers jumped out with an early lead in the first inning before the Muleriders gradually added runs to the scoreboard while ECU struggled to maintain momentum after the second inning.
 
Tyler Akers led off the first inning with a single before Nick Blankenship drove him in with a well-placed double down the right-field line for the Tigers' first run. Then, Christian Whitaker reached on an error, giving Blankenship the green light to cross home plate and extend their lead to 2-0.
 
The Tigers would add on to their advantage in the next frame with Lucas Barnes' RBI single driving in Kale Williams to bring the score to 3-0. But SAU countered with runs in six consecutive innings, ultimately sealing the 10-3 win.
 
In the final game of the series, the Muleriders established an early lead and maintained control throughout, securing a 13-4 victory. DeAngelo Morales drove in the Tigers' first run of the game in the first inning while the next three runs would not be scored until the final inning when Tanner Collins scored on a passed ball, Krew Taylor was driven in by Lucas Barnes' sacrifice fly, and Britton Sperry crossed home plate due to a Mulerider error.
 
The ECU baseball team will gear up for their next GAC series against Southern Nazarene University beginning Friday, March 1^st at 1 pm.