BETHANY, Okla. — Southern Nazarene split the first two games of a Great American Conference Contest with Ouachita Baptist as it fell 7-2 in the first game, but bounced back with a 5-2 win over the Tigers in the nightcap.
 
In the opener, Cole Lee and Jake Vernon were both 2-for-4 as Lee drove in a run. Ryan Mills (2-2) took the loss after giving up five runs, four earned, on eight hits in 5.2 innings of work.
 
SNU (5-7, 1-4 GAC) struck first in the top of the first when Cole Lee drove home Garrett Perez with a ground out. The Tigers answered with four in the bottom half of the inning to lead 4-1. The Crimson Storm cut it to 4-2 in the top of the fifth when Joe Toilolo scored on a wild pitch, but Ouachita Baptist added another in the bottom of the sixth and two in the seventh to push it to 7-2.
 
In the nightcap, David Gustafson (2-2) struck out eight and gave up just two runs on five hits in six innings of work. Austin Cooper notched his third save of the year as he retired the side in the bottom of the sixth and struck out one.
 
Cooper also went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs while Cole Wagner went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
 
SNU jumped on the board first when Lee squeezed home Perez to give the Storm a 1-0 lead in the top of the first before Jake Vernon cleared the centerfield fence for his first homerun of the year to give SNU a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. The Storm pushed it to 3-0 in the top of the third on an Austin Cooper double to left center.
 
The Tigers got on the board in the bottom of the third and cut it to 3-2 in the fourth. SNU answered with two in the top fifth to make it 5-2. Cole Wagner drove home the first run of the inning with a double to left before Cooper singled to center to score Wagner and that was all SNU needed as Cooper closed the door.