Box Score (html)
WEATHERFORD, Okla. – SWOSU Baseball had five players record three hits and all but one player finish with at least a single hit as the Bulldogs routed East Central 25-5 on Friday in the series opener. The game, shortened due to run rule, tied the record for runs scored in a conference game.
The Bulldog bats used 20 hits to collect 25 runs in the game, including four home runs by three players.
Brooks Benson went yard twice, while both
Jason Nichols and
Daniel Richardson each hit one home run each. For Richardson, it is his second straight game with a long ball and he now has a team leading four home runs in the last five games.
SWOSU, as the visiting team on Friday due to the change in site for the series, put up six runs in the game's opening inning to give starter
Jake Cowan (W, 4-1) plenty of early run support. The Bulldogs followed up their six runs with another nine in the second inning to open up a 15-0 lead after two complete innings. The offense finished the game scoring runs in five of the seven innings, while allowing five runs to ECU (all in the fifth inning).
Garret Gaunt (2.2 IP) came on in relief in that fifth inning, allowing two of Cowan's runners and two of his own before settling in and finishing the game. Cowan earned his third straight victory, striking out six hitters and walking none.
Bryan Miranda,
Chase Duncan,
Alex Pimentel, and
Brooks Benson – SWOSU's first four hitters in the lineup – all collected three hits apiece in the game.
Daniel Richardson, the other player in the game to notch three hits, tied with Benson for a team high seven RBIs in the game.
The Bulldogs (10-5, 6-1 GAC) have now won six straight games and will go for the series victory tomorrow (Sat., March 3) beginning at noon. The third and final game of the series will get underway 30 minutes following the completion of game two on Saturday.
