GOODWELL, Okla. - The Storm headed to the panhandle of Oklahoma to take on the Aggies of Oklahoma Panhandle State for a midweek doubleheader matchup. OPSU was able to add two wins to their record after taking down the Storm for a doubleheader sweep.

Game 1

The Storm (5-14, 2-7 GAC) struggled to get any sort of offense going in the top of the first after Dax Edmonds got hit by a pitch. Panhandle State (10-13, 2-1 SAC) left Edmonds stranded as they headed to the plate for the first time. Logan Isbell got the first chance on the mound recording a scoreless inning in the first. 

The Storm offense still struggled to find a spark as OPSU retired the side in the top of the second. The Aggies took advantage of an SNU error and wild pitch to plate four runs on a single and a triple. 

Jake Schow took over on the mound, but Panhandle State caught another burst of offense plating three more Aggies off of two home runs. Parker Presley then got the ball on the mound, but OPSU was not phased as they blasted another home run to lead 9-0 after two. 

SNU continued to struggle offensively posting another scoreless inning as the Aggies retired the side. OPSU tacked on two more runs thanks to a double pushing their lead to 12. 

It was another quick inning at the plate for the Storm as the Aggies retired the side once more. Gabriel Sanchez checked in for the Storm on the mound in the fourth. Panhandle State plated two more runs on a two-run bomb over the left field wall. They tacked on one more run thanks to a double to lead SNU 15-0 after four.

Back-to-back Storm doubles from Weston Hicks and Tanner Bare pushed one run across for SNU. Sanchez settled in on the mound striking out the side to end the fifth inning. 

Alex Leon led off the top of the sixth with a double to center field to give the Storm a spark. Leon advanced to third on a fly ball before a ground ball from Chance Bufford scored him. 

The Aggies blasted another home run in the bottom of the sixth to move their lead to 16-2. Trey Orman opened up the seventh inning with a single up the middle to put on a base runner for the Storm. Weston Hicks followed with a two-run home run to cut the OPSU lead to 16-4. 

The Storm kept the bats going as Tucker LeMay found a gap for a double that led to an Aggie pitching change. SNU was able to take advantage, plating two more to trail by 10. Unfortunately, the Storm was unable to continue their comeback as they fell in game one 16-6.

Game 2

The Storm looked to rewrite their fate in two of the double-headers. Blake Brinkmeyer got SNU on the board first as he singled to left, scoring Hicks and Jacob Martinez to grab an early 2-0 lead. Oliver Wilson started on the mound for Southern Nazarene delivering a scoreless first frame. 

OPSU retired the side in the top of the second to halt any Storm momentum. The Aggies then cut the SNU lead in half after a solo shot put them on the board. 

SNU was able to get a couple of base runners on but was unable to make anything happen. Wilson continued to give the Aggies a hard time at the plate as he retired the side to turn over the inning. 

The Aggies continued to hold off the Storm handing them another scoreless inning. Panhandle State collected another run on a sac fly to tie the score 2-2 after four. Zack Robinson took over on the mound delivering the final two outs.

The Storm broke that tie quickly, plating three runs on three singles from Martinez, Hicks, and Brinkmeyer to grab back the lead. OPSU responded with a two-run home run to cut the deficit to two. 

Southern Nazarene posted a scoreless frame to begin the sixth inning. The Aggies kept the scoring going taking advantage of a throwing error by the Storm to plate one. Panhandle State tacked on two more on a single and a double to take the lead 8-7. 

The Storm made another pitching change and looked to Gunner Philips to get them out of the jam. The Aggies continued their rally plating another run off of a single to left center. 

SNU had to find a comeback in the top of the seventh to keep the game alive. The Aggies recorded two quick outs, but the Storm was not done there. Hicks blasted a solo shot to chip away at the OPSU lead to put the Storm within two runs. Bufford followed up with a solo bomb of his own to cut the lead to just one. Southern Nazarene was down to their final out but were unable to tie the score leaving them to fall to the Aggies, 9-10.

Next Up 

The Storm will head to Alva to take on the Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers. The two squads are set to play a single game on Friday, March 8 at 6:00 p.m. and a doubleheader Saturday, March 9 at 1:00 p.m.