ADA, Okla. – The East Central University baseball team jumped out to an early lead but could not hold off a late surge from Southeastern Oklahoma State, falling 18-8 in a midweek nonconference matchup.
 
The Tigers will now turn their focus back to Great American Conference play as they prepare to host Southwestern Oklahoma State University March 27-28.
 
The Tigers came out swinging in the first inning, responding quickly after Southeastern took a 1-0 lead on a solo home run. Max Tremblay tied things up with an RBI single before Logan Jeske broke the game open with a three-RBI triple down the left field line, scoring Trace Necessary, Joey Allen and Tremblay. DeAngelo Morales followed with an RBI single to cap a five-run inning and give ECU a 5-1 advantage.
 
ECU added to its lead in the second when Tyler Akers came home on a wild pitch, pushing the score to 6-2.
 
The Tigers extended their lead again in the fourth, taking advantage of a defensive miscue to go up 7-2, and added another run in the fifth behind an RBI single from Jeske to make it 8-3.
 
Southeastern Oklahoma State began to chip away with solo home runs in the fifth and sixth innings, cutting the deficit to 8-4 heading into the late innings.
 
The game turned dramatically in the eighth, as the Savage Storm erupted for nine runs on a combination of timely hits, walks and ECU errors to take an 13-8 lead. Southeastern carried that momentum into the ninth, adding five more runs to seal the 18-8 final.
 
Jeske led the Tigers offensively with a three-RBI triple and an additional RBI single, while Tremblay and Morales each drove in a run during ECU's big first inning.
 
On the mound, Carson Padgett got the start for the Tigers, while Kyle Lockhart, Simon Baker and Easton Riddle provided solid relief efforts through the middle innings to help ECU maintain its lead. Greyson Christian was tagged with the loss, and Cason Coomer, Trace McDaniels, Drew Sheppard, Jackson Davis and Jakob Brandenberger all saw time on the mound as Southeastern's late surge shifted the game in the final innings.