BETHANY, Okla. – A pair of strong starting pitching efforts and 19 runs scored allowed the SWOSU Baseball team to sweep a doubleheader against Southern Nazarene on Saturday afternoon in Bethany. The Bulldogs (15-7, 8-3 GAC) will now go for the sweep of the three-game series against SNU on Sunday afternoon.
SWOSU 5, Southern Nazarene 2Box Score SWOSU scored single runs in the first and third innings before adding three in the fifth to provide plenty of cushion for Bulldog starting pitcher,
Jon Chidester. SNU would score single runs in the seventh and eighth innings, but it was the Bulldogs hanging on for the game one victory.
Tanner Dearman wasted little time getting the Bulldogs on the board, hitting a leadoff home run on the fourth pitch of the game to make it 1-0 very early on.
Haden Houska led off the third inning with a triple and scored two batters later as
Joshua Santos came through with the RBI single. Houska again reached base in the fifth and moved to third on a double from Dearman, paving the way for Santos to again come through with an RBI, this time in the form of a sacrifice fly. SWOSU's next batter,
Korbin Polston, cleared the bases with his fourth home run of the season, making it 5-0 after five innings.
Southern Nazarene got their runs with a solo home run in the seventh and a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, but Chidester (5-1) allowed just five hits and two runs in a complete-game effort on the mound.
SWOSU 14, Southern Nazarene 1Box Score SWOSU hit two home runs, including a grand slam, as part of a nine-run third inning that broke the game wide open and earned the series victory for the Bulldogs.
Jacob Spring was the first one to play the long ball game, smoking a grand slam for his team-leading fifth home run of the season to make it 4-0. Three batters later,
Joel Baxley joined the party, hitting a three-run homer to right that made it 7-0 before the Crimson Storm recorded an out in the inning.
Houska singled and scored on an RBI triple from Dearman, who then scored on a sacrifice fly from Santos as SWOSU built their 9-0 lead. SNU got on the board with an RBI single in the bottom of the third, but the Dawgs responded with RBI hits from Santos and
Zach Barton in the fifth that pushed the lead to double digits. SNU would load the bases in the bottom of the sixth inning, but SWOSU starter
Gunnar Cook worked out of the jam, getting a groundout to end the threat. Baxley came to the plate with two runners on in the seventh and hit a two-run double down the right field line and he then scored on an RBI single from
CJ Faddis that made it 14-1.
Cook (4-2) tossed the first 6.0 innings and picked up the victory after allowing six hits and one earned run with five strikeouts.
Austin Hilton closed the game out, retiring three of the four batters he faced in the seventh inning.
