Box Score (html)
ALVA, Okla. – SWOSU Baseball emphatically snapped a nine-game slide on Friday night, defeating the rival Rangers of Northwestern Oklahoma State 12-3 at Myers Stadium for the 100th career victory for head coach
Zack Saunders.
SWOSU burst through the gates and opened the game with three hits in the first inning, including an RBI single from
Jacob Spring that scored
Dalton Daniels from third base. The Bulldogs then tacked on three runs in the second, getting RBI hits from
Chris Graham, Daniels and
Haden Houska, who doubled to right center with two outs in the inning.
After NWOSU scored their first run on a solo home run in the bottom of the second, the Bulldogs came right back with an RBI single by
Mason Marshall that plated
Greg Bruno for a 5-1 lead. After the Rangers got two runners on with no outs in the third, SWOSU starter
Ethan Davis got out of the inning by allowing just one run, allowing the Bulldogs to retain a 5-2 lead after three complete.
In the fifth, SWOSU loaded the bases with one out and got an RBI single from Graham, scoring
Trent Troxell to push the lead back to 6-2 despite leaving the bases loaded. The Rangers earned that run back in the sixth inning on an RBI double, but Davis again worked out of a jam with a strike out, pop up on a squeeze play and a groundout to Daniels at second base.
With the Bulldogs looking for some insurance in the ninth inning, they erupted for six runs on four hits while also taking advantage of two NWOSU errors to blow the game wide open.
Mason Marshall mashed a two-run shot out to left while Graham added an RBI double and
Nolan Barrientos smacked a two-run single – one of two hits by him in the inning – that pushed the lead to 12-3, which proved to be the final margin.
The offensive numbers for SWOSU were staggering as the Bulldog pounded out a season-best 17 hits while tying their season-high scoring total. Barrientos went 4-for-6 with two RBI and one run scored while Graham and Daniels each had three hits apiece. Daniels and Bruno each scored three times with Graham coming across the plate twice while batting in three.
The insurance runs benefitted Davis, who tossed his second straight complete game, allowing seven hits and three runs while striking out nine Ranger batters. He needed just 126 pitches to pick up the win, improving to 4-5 on the year.
"There's no better way to pay off
Ethan Davis than with this win in his final start as a Bulldog," Saunders said postgame. "It always feels good to win a rivalry game and we need to keep this momentum going as we finish this series tomorrow."
With the victory, the Bulldogs snap a nine-game slide and improve to 17-27 overall and 10-18 in Great American Conference league play with a 1:00 pm doubleheader against the Rangers tomorrow ahead. The win is also the 100th for Coach Saunders, now in his fourth year at SWOSU with a career mark of 100-85.
