ADA, Okla. – After playing a three-game series with Henderson State University over the weekend, the East Central University baseball team had one day off before returning to the field for a midweek matchup against Southern Nazarene University for the fifth time this season.
 
Despite the Storm outhitting the Tigers nine hits to eight, SNU put up nine runs while ECU managed two.
 
SNU got the first chance to score, plating two runs in the first inning for the early lead before they were able to tack on another run in the second and fourth to stretch their lead to four.
 
The Tigers struggled to generate offense, recording their first hit in the third inning. However, they found a breakthrough in the fifth when Dione Allen's RBI single brought DeAngelo Morales home for ECU's first run.
 
The Storm continued to push, sneaking in three more runs in the next frame to put them ahead 7-1. ECU responded in the eighth inning, securing their second run through Chris Griffis' RBI double that scored Tyler Akers. However, they could not muster any more runs.
 
SNU scored two final runs in the ninth inning, making the score read 9-2. With a quick three outs in the bottom half, ECU was unable to erase the deficit, resulting in the midweek win for the Storm.
 
Chris Griffis went 2-for-4 at the plate and added an RBI to lead the Tigers while the other hits came from Tyler Akers, Nick Blankenship, Austin Wood, Kale Williams, Dione Allen, and Krew Taylor.
 
Cayden Blanton took his first loss of the season on the mound pitching 3.2 innings while Chase Owen and Jarod Leroux relieved for the final five innings.
 
The ECU baseball team will be back at Ken Turner Field this weekend to hist Oklahoma Baptist University.