Box Score (html)
EDMOND, Okla. – SWOSU Baseball fell to Central Oklahoma in midweek action 12-11 after an offensive day at the ball bark ended with a bases loaded walk to score the winning run. The two teams combined to score 23 runs on 29 hits on Wednesday, including five home runs on the afternoon.
The Bulldogs did most of their damage with two outs on the day, producing eight of their runs in the game led by
Rafael Otero's three-hit day including two home runs and four RBI and
Garret Gaunt who belted a two-run home run of his own to collect two RBI for the Dawgs. All three home runs SWOSU hit came with just one out remaining in the inning.
After SWOSU jumped out to a 4-0 lead after their turn to bat in the second inning, Central Oklahoma answered with a three-run home run of their own to cut the Dawg lead to just one after two full innings. The Bulldogs would push one across in the next half inning to go up by two runs until the bottom of the fourth when Central Oklahoma hit back-to-back home runs to knot the game back up at 5-5.
Two-run home runs from Gaunt and Otero in the fifth and sixth innings made it 9-5, but the Bronchos would not go away after scoring three of their own in the sixth to once again cut their deficit to one. SWOSU would get two more runs in the eighth to provide insurance and would need it after UCO was able answer with two runs in the bottom half of the inning, both unearned, and stranded the tying runner on third base.
After going quietly in the top half of the final inning, SWOSU took the field needing three outs to get out of Edmond with a win. That would not happen however as UCO utilized momentum from the previous inning to piece together another two-run inning that ended in walk-off fashion as pitcher
Quintin Dougherty threw ball four with bases loaded, two outs and a full count to allow the go-ahead and final run to score.
Joshua Santos and Otero both tallied three hits on the day while
Ruben Rodriguez and
Rogelio Sanchez each collected two. Dougherty was charged with the loss on the mound after pitching 1.2 innings in the eighth and ninth and allowing four runs, two of which were unearned. The Dawgs used six pitchers on the afternoon none of which threw more than 2.0 innings of work.
The hard-fought loss makes it seven in a row for SWOSU after starting the season with four consecutive wins. The Bulldogs (4-7) will now travel to Searcy, Ark. to take on Harding in the second GAC series of the season on Friday and Saturday.
