BETHANY - Senior
Jefferson Harris fanned 12 SWOSU batter in game two, but the Bulldogs were able to sweep a doubleheader of Southern Nazarene, taking game one 14-3 (8) before winning game two in a tight 2-1 (7) contest.
For Harris, his 12 strikeouts are the fourth most K's in a single game in SNU history and believed to be the most strikeouts in a 7-inning contest.
SWOSU got a 4-for-4 day from Sawyer Toole as they opened a 7-0 lead through five innings of play, using extra base hits to put a four spot up in the fifth inning. In the sixth inning, SNU got a little momentum going in their favor as
Emilio Escobedo singled home the first run of the game. One batter later,
Jack Campbell stepped to the plate and blasted a long ball over the left field wall to cut the deficit to 7-3.
However, SWOSU's bats were too much to handle for SNU as they put up four more runs in the sevenths and added three in the eighth to pull away and take the 14-3 win.
Tyler Thompson got the start and went 2.2 innings, earning the loss despite allowing no earned runs.
Brandon Rezek,
Triston Graves, and
Zach Birkle all saw relief efforts while Graves going 3.1 innings.
Campbell was 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBI while Escobedo was 1-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored.
Cole Lee added a 1-for-3 day with a run scored.
In game two, SWOSU was able to get two runs off of Harris thanks to a solo shot from Toole and a RBI single. However, Harris began to find a groove, striking out three batters in the fourth and fifth innings. Harris got eight of his nine put outs via the strikeouts between innings 4-6.
However, SNU struggled to get the big hit when they needed it, leaving 11 runners left on base.
In the seventh, SNU got a pair of runners on with one out as
Garrett Perez reached on an error while
Shelby Reese singled to bring runners to first and third. After a strikeouts, Escobedo singled into left field to score one and bring the tying run to second base. However, another strikeouts for SWOSU closed the contest and gave the Bulldogs the Friday sweep.
Harris went six complete, allowing two runs on five hits to go with 12 punch outs and three walks. Unfortunately for Harris, despite a brilliant effort, he was saddled with the loss. Lee pitched the final inning, earning one strikeout.
SNU had seven hits from seven different batters while Escobedo earned the only RBI. Harris and
Connor Dayton were each 1-for-2 on the day.
SNU moves to 9-30 overall and 3-26 in GAC play. They will look to salvage the series tomorrow afternoon as they battle SWOSU in the third and final game beginning at 12 p.m.
