WEATHERFORD, Okla. – The East Central University baseball team put on a dominant performance in the series finale doubleheader against Southwestern Oklahoma State University on Saturday, securing a dramatic series sweep. The Tigers clinched the series with a 9-5 victory in game one and wrapped up the day with an exhilarating 7-6 come-from-behind win in game two, marking their first GAC series win of the season.
 
This series sweep also marks the first time since the 2020 COVID-shortened season that ECU has swept a conference opponent, when they defeated Southern Nazarene University.
 
ECU's explosive offense put on a show, racking up 24 hits and driving in 16 runs, outlasting SWOSU, who posted 18 hits and 11 runs of their own.
 
GAME 1 | ECU 9, SWOSU 5
The Tigers jumped out to an early lead in game one and never looked back, with every hitter registering at least one hit to fuel their offensive barrage.
 
In the second inning, Christian Fernandez led off with a double, and Bennie Qualls followed with a single to left. Pryce Jackson then singled through the right side to put ECU on the scoreboard, and Ethan Rone crushed a three-run homer to left, propelling the Tigers to a 4-0 lead.
 
SWOSU responded with one run each in the third and fifth innings, but ECU kept their foot on the gas. Weldon Sherrell delivered an RBI single in the fifth, and Mason Shimkus followed with RBI singles in the sixth and eighth to extend the Tigers' lead to 7-2.
 
The Bulldogs rallied in the eighth, scoring three runs on four hits to pull within 7-5, but ECU's offense answered with two insurance runs on RBI singles from Zac Carroll and Blake Seefeldt, sealing the 9-5 win and clinching the series.
 
Cal Birchfield earned his first win of the season, tossing 7.1 strong innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on seven hits, and striking out seven. Jeremy Slate finished off the game with 1.2 innings of one-run, two-hit relief.
 
Weldon Sherrell and Blake Seefeldt each had two hits and an RBI, while Ethan Rone's home run drove in three RBIs.
 
GAME 2 | ECU 7, SWOSU 6
Game two saw ECU fighting from behind for much of the game before igniting with rallies in the sixth and seventh innings to complete the sweep in thrilling fashion.
 
The Tigers were held to just two hits over the first five innings as the Bulldogs built a 4-0 lead with two runs in the third and one each in the fourth and fifth.
 
But ECU began to chip away in the sixth, when DeAngelo Morales led off with a single and Tyler Akers drew a walk before Weldon Sherrell came through with a clutch two-RBI double, cutting the lead in half to 4-2. Sherrell advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single from Christian Fernandez to make it 4-3.
 
SWOSU added another run in the sixth to extend their lead to 5-3, but ECU exploded in the seventh. Ethan Rone blasted a solo homer for his second of the day, and Zac Carroll's RBI single tied the game at 5-5. Blake Seefeldt followed with an RBI double to give ECU the lead, and a bases-loaded walk to Bennie Qualls made it 7-5.
 
SWOSU fought back with an RBI single to close the gap to 7-6, but closer Beau Driggers came in and sealed the deal with a strikeout to secure the thrilling series sweep.
 
Nate Windle earned his first win of the season, throwing 6.0 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits, and striking out four. Driggers closed out the game in the final inning, allowing just one run on one hit while striking out two.
 
Weldon Sherrell and Zac Carroll each went 2-for-4 with Sherrell adding two RBIs. Ethan Rone's two home runs on the day improve him to four on the season.