Box Score (html)
 
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – SWOSU Baseball dropped game one of their Great American Conference road series against Ouachita on Friday by a final score of 5-4.
 
The Dawgs finally managed to eliminate a two-run deficit in the eighth inning when they tied the game up with a pair of runs, but surrendered a run in the home half that proved to be the game's difference maker.   
 
SWOSU got the scoring started in the first inning, despite not recording a hit in the frame. Bryan Miranda walked to lead the game off and stole second and third before finally crossing home plate on a wild pitch.
 
In the home half of the first inning, Ouachita scored four runs on a pair of RBI hits. A two-run double plated two runs and gave the Tigers the lead, followed by a two-run home run that extended the margin to 4-2. SWOSU starting pitcher Cooper Cantwell finally got out of the inning and settled down the rest of the way, keeping the Tiger offense in check for much of his outing.
 
An RBI single from Rogelio Sanchez in the third inning inched the Dawgs closer, but neither team would score again until the eighth inning.
 
Bryan Miranda doubled in Marion McLean in the eighth inning to get the Bulldogs within one run, and Miranda then scored on an error one at-bat later to tie the game back up at 4-4. That score did not last however, as Ouachita answered in the bottom half of the eighth with a run of their own to retake the lead – this time for good.
 
With Cantwell still on the bump, the Tigers led the bottom of the eighth inning off with a double and scored the go-ahead run on an RBI single to third base. That would be all Ouachita would get, but it was enough as the Dawg lineup went three-up and three-down in the ninth to end the game.
 
In the game, the Bulldog offense tallied just seven hits while Ouachita managed 11. Marion McLean was SWOSU's lone multi-hit performance, finishing 2-for-3 with a run scored. Bryan Miranda and Alex Pimentel both added doubles to the mix and accounted for the other three runs the Bulldogs scored in the game.
 
Cantwell (L, 5-5) threw a complete game and finished with a final line of 8.0 innings pitched, five runs (all earned), four strikeouts, and no walks.
 
The series will conclude tomorrow at noon with a doubleheader set to begin at noon in Arkadelphia from Rab Rodgers Field.