Box Score (html)
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. –Jon Chidester was more than ready for the Friday Night Lights of Russellville, Arkansas, as the senior starter recorded a career-high 14 strikeouts in a 5-1 victory by SWOSU in their series opener with Arkansas Tech.
SWOSU threatened offensively from the outset, leaving runners on in the first and second innings before pushing two across in the third for the early lead.
Tanner Dearman scored on a throwing error by ATU and
Jacob Spring hit a sacrifice fly that brought
Joshua Santos in two make it 2-0.
The run support was exactly what Chidester need as he struck out five of the next six batters he faced and set down Arkansas Tech in order in both the third and fourth innings. He then worked around a leadoff single in the fifth inning and sent the game to the fifth with the score remaining at 2-0.
Zach Barton singled to lead off the top of the sixth inning and worked his way into scoring position with a pair of wild pitches by Tech.
Trent Troxell delivered a sacrifice fly, allowing SWOSU to increase their lead to 3-0 when ATU came to bat in the sixth. The Wonder Boys got two singles off Chidester in the sixth, but he dug deep for a swinging strikeout to end the threat and the inning.
The top of the SWOSU lineup was able to provide further insurance in the seventh, with Dearman singling to lead off the inning and moving into scoring position on an error by ATU.
Korbin Polston then stepped in and delivered a one-out single to right field that scored Dearman and upped it to a 4-0 advantage. In the tight, the lower half of the lineup provided a run as
CJ Faddis doubled down the left field line to score pinch-runner
Greg Bruno for a 5-0 lead.
Arkansas Tech got their lone run of the game with a solo home run in the eighth, but Chidester was still going strong at well over 100 pitches and he struck out three of the final four batters he faced, including the last two of the game.
Each of the top three batters in the lineup for SWOSU – Dearman, Santos, Polston – had three hits, as did
CJ Faddis who also had an RBI from his eighth spot in the lineup. The Bulldogs had 10 hits, compared to six for ATU and won despite leaving eight runners on base.
Chidester (7-3) threw 130 pitches in his complete-game effort, allowing six hits and one run while striking out a career-best 14 with two walks and one wild pitch.
SWOSU Baseball improves to 25-12 on the year and 15-7 in league play with two games remaining in the Great American Conference series. The Bulldogs are back in action at ATU on Saturday afternoon, with a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 pm.
