WEATHERFORD – SWOSU Baseball fell 4-2 in 11 innings to open the series against Harding on Friday at the Athletic Complex.
Both sides scored two runs through the first two innings before a pitcher's duel broke out. An 11th-inning two-run home run with two outs eventually was the difference maker.
The loss drops the Dawgs to 15-9 overall and 7-6 in league play. SWOSU will have two more tries at Harding tomorrow beginning at noon in Weatherford.
Starting pitcher Rece Parker surrendered two runs on two hits in the second inning before settling in. From there, he threw three-up three-down innings in four of the final five innings of his outing before making his exit after the seventh. He threw 98 pitches, struck out seven and walked two.
Grant Ewy (L, 1-1) gave three strong innings of relief before the big hit spoiled things in the 11th. From the third inning into the tenth, Harding did not have a hit. That streak finally broke with two outs in the 10th with a Bison single. They added two more in the 11th including the game winner.
Much like Parker, Harding's starter Maddox Long also settled in. The Bulldogs plated single runs in the first and second innings and had six hits through four frames before Long got rolling. He finished his outing retiring nine straight in his seven-inning outing.
After the Dawgs racked up six hits in the first four innings, the bats went cold. SWOSU managed just one hit from the fifth inning on – a Reece Burke single in the eighth.
Burke was the lone Bulldog with two hits in the game, including an RBI single in the first inning. Marco Barrera drove in SWOSU's other run in the second inning. Sean Monsour had SWOSU's lone extra-base hit on the afternoon.
