WEATHERFORD, Okla. – The East Central University baseball team traveled to Weatherford on Friday to open the Great American Series against Southwestern Oklahoma State University. In a thrilling back-and-forth contest, the Tigers pulled ahead in the eighth inning, scoring three runs to secure a hard-fought 10-9 victory over the Bulldogs.
 
ECU will look to clinch the series tomorrow with a doubleheader set to begin at 12 p.m.
 
SWOSU jumped out to an early lead in the first inning with a homer to put them ahead 3-0, but ECU quickly responded with a five-run second inning. Bennie Qualls drove in Blake Seefeldt with an RBI single to put the Tigers on the board, before Tyler Akers launched a grand slam to cap a two-out, bases-loaded rally and give ECU a 5-3 advantage.
 
The next two innings turned into a pitchers' duel, with neither team scoring until the Bulldogs regained the lead in the fifth. SWOSU exploded for five runs on five hits, including another homer, to take an 8-5 lead.
 
The Tigers fought back in the sixth, trimming the deficit to 8-7 with a two-run blast by Trace Necessary, marking his second consecutive game with a two-run homer. However, SWOSU answered in the bottom of the inning, adding a run to extend their lead to 9-7.
 
After a scoreless seventh, ECU's offense came alive in the eighth. Zac Carroll led off with a double, followed by a single from Christian Fernandez and a hit by pitch to Bennie Qualls, loading the bases. Trace Necessary then singled in Carroll to cut the lead to 9-8, and Ethan Rone followed with a two-RBI single down the right-field line, driving in Qualls and Fernandez to give the Tigers a 10-9 lead they would not relinquish.
 
On the mound, Luke Livian started for ECU, tossing 4.1 innings before Joel Hogan came in relief, throwing 3.2 innings and earning his first win of the season. Hogan allowed just one run and four hits while striking out three. Cameron Ebert closed out the game in the ninth, helping secure the win and preventing the Bulldogs from scoring.
 
ECU's offense totaled 13 hits in the contest, with Ethan Rone going 3-for-4 at the plates with two RBIs, while Christian Fernandez, Bennie Qualls, and Trace Necessary each added two hits. Necessary drove in three RBIs, including his second home run of the season and Tyler Akers led the team with four RBIs, highlighted by his grand slam.