Box Score
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ENID, Okla. – A five-run second inning highlighted the offensive output by Arkansas Tech, the No. 3 ranked team in NCAA Division II, as they eliminated Southwestern Oklahoma State University from the Great American Conference Baseball Tournament 16-3 at David Allen Memorial Ballpark in Enid, Okla., on Sunday.
ATU loaded the bases in the first inning against SWOSU starter
Ethan Davis and plated two on an RBI single with two outs in the inning, taking a 2-0 lead before the Bulldogs came to the plate.
Brandon Ruiz got one of the runs back with a towering solo home run over the left field wall in the bottom of the inning, leaving the Dawgs down 2-1 after an inning.
The Wonder Boys started breaking the game open in the third with a five-run inning that included a grand slam that made the score 7-1. Ruiz again helped the Bulldogs get one run back on a sacrifice fly that scored
Dietrick Turney from third and made the score 7-2 after three complete.
Jacob Swigart got the final out of the third and worked a perfect fourth inning before ATU's bats got going again, scoring five runs on six hits in the fifth to extend their lead to 12-2. Swigart was chased in the middle of the inning and
Chris Joiner came on to record the final two outs of the inning.
ATU would add single runs in both the sixth and seventh innings before putting up a pair in the ninth to give them their 16th run. SWOSU added one final run after
Kale Thaxton tripled off the wall and scored on an RBI groundout by
Chris Faulkner in the bottom of the 8th inning.
The Bulldog offense was held to six hits in the game and all six came from Ruiz, Thaxton and Faulkner, who all had multi-hit games. Ruiz batted in the first two runs before Faulkner added his team-leading 40th RBI late in the game.
Davis started but lasted just 2.2 innings against the Wonder Boys, allowing nine hits and seven earned runs. He was tagged with the loss and finishes his junior season with the Bulldogs with a 9-4 record.
The elimination from the tournament also marks the end of the Bulldogs 2014 season, which concludes with a record of 25-23 and is the third consecutive winning season under the direction of head coach
Zack Saunders.
