WEATHERFORD – Reece Burke hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning as SWOSU Baseball erased an early 11-2 deficit to defeat Oklahoma Christian 14-13 on Tuesday afternoon.
The Bulldogs move to 4-0 in midweek non-conference matchups this season.
Oklahoma Christian jumped out to their 11-2 lead after just an inning and a half, before the Bulldogs finally neutralized the visitors' scoring. OC's first five runs in the opening frame required just one hit, as the Dawgs issued a total of six free passes in the opening frame between four walks and two hit-by-pitches. Their six runs in the second inning saw more offensive production, with five hits including a three-run home run.
The visitors were then able to tack on single runs in the third and fourth but were held scoreless from the fifth inning on.
Tyler Leachner, Greg Ross, Tyler Fortin, Ayden Page, and Jackson Blue all threw scoreless innings to help stabilize the second half of the game after the shaky start. Leachner entered in a jam in the fourth and educed a ground ball double play to get out of it – then pitched a scoreless fifth.
SWOSU stayed in the game throughout though. Even after the large early deficit, they answered back with a five-run third inning that was capped off by a three-run home run from Bodi Wallar. His long ball came after RBI singles from Sean Monsour and Ty Eastwood.
Through the first three innings, both teams scored in every at-bat but SWOSU still trailed 12-9.
Despite extra-base hits in two of the next three innings from Monsour and Gage Gaunt, the Dawgs had nothing to show on the scoreboard. Monsour then singled in a run in the seventh, before the eighth inning fireworks.
Trailing 13-10, Eastwood tripled to leadoff the eighth. Wallar drove him in, Gaunt singled behind him, and Burke did the rest.
Blue earned the save in the ninth, pitching around a leadoff double.
SWOSU finished with 16 hits in the game, outhitting the Eagles 16-12. It's the fifth time this season the Dawgs had 15 or more hits.
Monsour had nearly a third of those. The senior went a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate with two doubles, three runs scored, and two RBI. Eastwood went 3-4 with three RBI. He, Wallar, and Burke combined for 12 RBI on the day.
With continued success in midweeks, SWOSU will look to roll that momentum into the weekend on the road against Southeastern where they'll be trying to snap a six-game GAC losing streak. With poor weather in the forecast, be sure to follow SWOSU Athletic social media pages and check www.swosuathletics.com regularly for scheduling adjustments.
