ADA, Okla. – The East Central University baseball team fell just short in a thrilling midweek non-conference matchup on Wednesday in Ada, dropping a 11-10 decision.
 
The Bison struck first in the opening inning, plating a run to take an early 1-0 lead. The Tigers quickly answered in the bottom of the frame as Tyler Akers scored on a passed ball after Ryan Strickland reached on a walk, knotting the game at 1-1.
 
Oklahoma Baptist pulled ahead again in the third inning with a two-run surge, including a solo homer to left-center, putting the Tigers behind 3-1. ECU chipped away in the bottom of the third, with Cooper McCage driving in a run to make it 3-2, then tied the game at 3-3 in the fourth on an RBI sacrifice fly from McCage.
 
The fifth inning turned into an offensive showcase for the Tigers. ECU scored five times, fueled by RBIs from Donovan Noble, Logan Jeske, Pryce Jackson, Joey Allen, Max Tremblay, and Tyler Akers, taking a 9-7 lead. A sixth-inning RBI single from Akers extended the Tigers' advantage to 9-7.
 
Oklahoma Baptist answered in the seventh and eighth innings, tying the game at 9-9. In the ninth, the Bison plated two more runs to reclaim the lead, but ECU added one final run on a sacrifice fly from Logan Jeske, falling just short at 11-10.
 
Despite the loss, ECU showed resilience in a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair, displaying timely hitting and a late-inning rally that kept the game competitive from start to finish.
 
Tyler Akers led the ECU offense with an impressive 5-for-6 performance at the plate, driving in one run and scoring twice. Max Tremblay, Joey Allen, Cooper McCage, and Logan Jeske each added key RBIs, helping the Tigers push across 10 runs. Donovan Noble also had a productive day with two RBIs and a run scored, while McCage, Allen, and Jeske contributed multiple hits to keep ECU competitive in the high-scoring affair.
 
Kyle Lockhart got the start for ECU, going 3 innings and giving up three runs on five hits while striking out two. Caleb Ebert followed with 1.1 innings, allowing three runs on one hit, and Easton Riddle worked a brief 0.2 inning stint, giving up one run while recording a strikeout. Kason Pruitt and Jackson Davis both contributed scoreless efforts, helping keep ECU in the game. Zane Wilson closed out the outing, allowing two runs over one inning with a strikeout.