BETHANY, Okla. - Southern Nazarene returned to Feland Field for a weekend GAC series with the Southeastern Oklahoma State Savage Storm. In a back and forth series the Savage Storm was able to grab two wins to claim the series in Bethany.

Game 1

The Storm(11-27, 6-18 GAC) looked to get back in the win column after falling to the No. 19 ranked Central Oklahoma. SNU looked to Levi Graham to get the first shot at the Savage Storm (12-25, 5-19 GAC) on the mound Friday afternoon.

Graham delivered two scoreless innings of work before SNU grabbed the early 2-0 lead after a Colby Entwistle double. SE responded quickly, cutting the score in half with a solo home run over the left field wall. The Savage Storm then tied the score on a double that plated one.

The Storms continued to battle as Graham delivered two more scoreless frames. Jacob Martinez got the SNU crowd on their feet after he sent one deep for a solo shot over the left field wall to take back a one-run lead.

Will DesHotel took over on the mound after a solid inning from Graham. DesHotels handed Southeastern another scoreless frame to hold the SNU lead. 

Gabe Sanchez then took over on the mound with the bases loaded looking to work out of the jam. SE took over with a two-run single that gave them a 4-3 lead. Sanchez was able to just allow the single run to finish the sixth inning.

Tucker LeMay knotted the score back up with a long ball over the left field wall. The Crimson Storm did not stop there, as a Blake Brinkmeyer double plated one more to put SNU back in the lead, 5-4. 

Brinkmeyer continued to be a catalyst at the plate driving in another run on a single up the middle in the bottom of the seventh to stretch the lead to two.

The Crimson Storm kept their foot on the gas as Trey Orman blasted a two-run shot to give the Storm an 8-4 lead.

The Savage Storm was down to their final three outs and did not go away easily. A solo shot cut the deficit to three as the Storm looked to Landon Kinder to record the final two outs of the contest. SE tacked on another run on a double to left. 

Gunner Phillips came in to shut down the Savage Storm as he allowed just one final run before recording the last outs to secure the opening victory for SNU, 8-7.

Game 2

The Crimson Storm managed to make game two of the series the most interesting as they came back from as much as an 11-run deficit. The Savage Storm was able to bring home a few more runs to even the series at 1-1.

A quiet first inning was only the calm before the storm as Jacob Martinez struck three of the four batters he faced. It was not long until Southeastern posted a nine-run inning to take the hefty lead.

The Savage Storm handed SNU another scoreless frame in the second before they went on to score two more runs pushing their lead to 11. The Crimson Storm was not backing down without a fight as they began to chip away. LeMay dropped in a single to plate one before Colby Entwistle tripled and a Brinkmeyer sac fly to cut the SE lead 11-4.  

SE kept the scoring going as they hit two solo shots to push their lead back to 10 runs. A bases loaded hit by pitch allowed Southern Nazarene to grab one back in the bottom of the fifth.

The Savage Storm plated two more after a bases loaded walk and a single to left to stretch their lead once more. The Storm was able to put up a three run sixth inning on singles from Martinez and Orman as well as a sac fly from Chase Hudson. 

The scoring continued for SNU in the bottom of the seventh as they cut the deficit to just two runs. Weston Hicks got the rally started after he singled to left to plate one runner. Martinez followed that up with a three run bomb to cut the SE lead to just five runs. Max Dias followed suit with a three run blast of his own to cut the Savage Storm lead 17-15. 

Jacob Tison was able to retire the side of Savage Storm hitters in the top of the eighth to send the Storm back to the plate. The SNU rally continued as Orman and Hudson singled to put the Crimson Storm in the lead 18-17.

Southeastern was down to their final two outs as Nick Hill hit a solo shot to tie the score 18-all. The Crimson Storm was unable to respond as SE retired the side, sending the ballgame into extra innings. 

A quiet tenth inning sent the contest into the eleventh as Southeastern regained the lead thanks to three home runs. The Crimson Storm had one last chance as they tacked on two more runs, but that was not enough as the Savage Storm evened the series with a 23-21 victory.

Game 3

The Savage Storm wasted no time as they jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead. After a weather delay and a field change, the Crimson Storm finally got their chance to score. SNU was able to cut the lead in half after a ground ball to the pitcher plated one. 

Southeastern tacked on another run on a single to left to push their lead once more. The Crimson Storm was able to plate two on singles from Martinez and Brinkmeyer to trail 4-3.

The bats stayed hot from SE as they sent one deep for a three-run home run to extend their lead to 7-3. They did not stop there as they added on a solo home run and a double to go ahead 9-3.

The Crimson Storm chipped away at the Southeastern lead with a solo bomb from Colby Entwistle to cut the deficit to five runs in the fourth. SNU continued their comeback with a three run home run from Orman to trail by just two after six innings of play. 

That would be all the offense from both squads as the Savage Storm held off Southern Nazarene to grab the 9-7 victory and the series.

Next Up

The Storm will travel to Enid to meet up with the Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers for a midweek contest. The first pitch is set for 7:00 p.m. at David Allen Field on Tuesday, April 9.