WEATHERFORD, Okla. – SWOSU Baseball split with Arkansas Tech on Saturday, claiming a 6-2 game one victory before falling 2-1 to the Wonder Boys in the night cap.
The Bulldogs (4-5, 1-1 GAC) will play the rubber match tomorrow at 1 pm out at the Athletic Complex to decide the opening GAC series.
Game One
SWOSU 6, Arkansas Tech 2
Box Score (html)
Jake Cowan gave SWOSU another solid start on the mound, pitching into the ninth inning and allowing just two runs on the afternoon. Meanwhile, the offense provided six runs of support which included four runs in the game's first two innings.
Chase Duncan and
Alex Pimentel singled in the first inning and were driven in by a two-RBI gap double off the bat of
Brooks Benson. Benson came around to score later in the frame following a
Daniel Richardson double. The Bulldogs tallied three runs in that first inning on four hits and set the tone early on for the day.
After scoring another run in the second inning, SWOSU led 4-1 which allowed Cowan to settle in and go to work. Tech managed to take advantage of a leadoff hit by pitch in the sixth inning where they would score another run, but that would be it for the Wonder Boy scoring.
RBIs from
Jason Nichols and Duncan in the seventh and eighth innings pushed the margin to 6-2 and
Brendan Peitsmeyer relieved Cowan in the ninth to get the game's final three outs.
Cowan (W, 2-1) struck out seven Tech hitters and walked just one in route to his second victory of the season. At the plate, Benson, Duncan, and
Marion McLean each collected a pair of hits each. Both teams scattered 10 hits on the afternoon.
Game Two
Arkansas Tech 2, SWOSU 1
Box Score (html)
It was a low-scoring night cap, with both teams combining for just five hits in the seven inning game. SWOSU's game two starter
Drew Grubb (L, 0-2) limited the Wonder Boy offense to just two runs again, but wasn't able to earn the victory as the Bulldog bats couldn't conjure the necessary runs.
In the fourth inning, SWOSU scratched their only run of the game across by way of fielder's choice with two outs. With the bases loaded, a base running
Daniel Richardson beat the ball to second base after a
Hayden Proctor a ground ball looked like it might end the inning. Instead, the Richardson slid in before the force out and was called safe – allowing
Chase Duncan to score from third.
Earlier in the same inning, SWOSU had runners on second and third with no outs before back-to-back strikeouts slowed the inning's momentum and hindered the Bulldog scoring opportunity.
Tech scored their pair of runs in back-to-back innings in the second and third. Their first run came on a wild pitch from Grubb, allowing a runner on third base to score with one out. The next inning, a two-out RBI plated what proved to be Tech's game-winning run.
Rafael Villela made a pinch hit appearance in the final inning and blasted a double to right center with two outs, but SWOSU ran out of outs the next at-bat when
Marion McLean popped up to end the game.
