ADA, Okla. — Southern Nazarene got off to a great start in their series with East Central, sweeping ECU in Saturday's doubleheader with a Game 1, dominating win of 14-3, followed by a Game 2 win of 9-6.
Game 1
Game 1 got off to slow start as both squads were scoreless through the the first three innings. SNU opened the scoring first with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning that plated Carson Kinnaird.
In the 5th SNU put up a single and a double from Cole Embrey and Dax Edmonds that were good for two RBIs, elevating the Storm to a 3-0 lead. SNU continued to pack on the runs as O'Shea Whiteside put up a double while Edmonds and Colby Entwistle cracked out singles, combining for four RBIs that pushed the Storm to a 7-0 lead.
Remaining scoreless through the first six innings, the Tigers' offense finally woke up in the bottom 6th, scoring three runs off of a ground out and two doubles, testing SNU's lead as they trailed 7-3.
That was the last of the scoring for ECU as the Storm exploded in the next inning, beginning with an Entwistle walk with the bases loaded that sent Edmonds home. An Oliver Wilson single earned the Storm two more RBIs and their lead quickly ballooned to 10-3.
Pitching troubles by the Tigers gave SNU even more room to tack on the runs as Entwistle stoke the bases home and both Cole Embrey and Edmonds singled for runs, allowing SNU to reach the whopping 14-3 advantage.
ECU was given one final chance to overcome the deficit in the bottom of the eighth, but were faced by the great fielding efforts of the Storm who served the Tigers the run rule and a final 14-3 loss in Game 1.
Patrick Wine got the win, pitching through 6.1 innings with only three runs allowed and tallying three strikeouts.
Game 2
The Tigers reversed the roles in Game 2, opening the game with a six-run second inning, leaving SNU scoreless through the first two.
The Storm responded quickly in the third with a DJ Van Atten double, a Kinnaird single, and Tyler Broyles walk, good for four total runs. The Storm packed on four more runs in the fourth with three singles from Kinnaird, Van Atten, and Tanner Bare, pushing SNU to the 8-6 lead.
The Tigers hadn't scored since their huge second inning, and SNU was able to sneak one more run in before both teams went scoreless in the seventh inning. Bare put up another single in the sixth that gave Entwistle the trip home, giving the Storm the 9-6 lead and the eventual win in Ada to close out the doubleheader.
Parker Presley got the win with his 4.2 innings pitched, only allowing two hits and getting four strikeouts.
