BETHANY, Okla. - Southern Nazarene kicked off their series against Southern Arkansas with a double-header at Putnam City High School. The Crimson Storm dropped game one after a late surge from the Mulerider offense, but SNU battled back in game two to claim a split on the day.

Game 1
Both the Storm and the Muleriders were quiet in the first inning, but SAU broke through in the second inning with two hits, bringing in a run. They added two more in the third inning of the game off one hit, taking a 3-0 lead.

Southern Nazarene answered in the fourth as Tucker LeMay got things started with a single followed by base hits from Chase Hudson and Ryan Talley. Lemay drove in one run, and after a hit by pitch and a bases loaded walk, Hudson crossed the plate to tie the game at 3-3.

Southern Arkansas quickly responded in the fifth inning with two runs on three hits to take back the lead. SNU fought back in the bottom half of the inning, loading the bases before Brady Benedict came through with a two run single, cutting the SAU lead to 5-4. 

In the top of the sixth inning, SAU tacked on another run off two hits to pull ahead 6-4. 

The Storm answered again, with a Jaxon Gless double and a fielder's choice allowing another run to score. SNU bats came to life to tie  the game 6-6 after six innings of play.
The Muleriders took full control in the ninth, exploding for eight runs on five hits to put the game out of reach and securing the 21-6 win.

Game 2
After a rough game one, SNU came out ready to fight. They struck first in the bottom of the first when Antonio Sabala doubled and later scored off a Jaxon Gless single, giving the Storm an early 1-0 lead.

SAU responded in the fourth, putting up four runs on five hits to jump ahead. But SNU wasn't backing down. In the bottom half of the inning Gless and Chase Hudson went back-to-back with home runs cutting the deficit to 4-2.

In the fifth inning Aiden McCullough got things started with a single and Blake Brinkmeyer followed with a walk. 

That helped set things up for Weston Hicks, who crushed a three run home run to left, flipping the game in SNU's favor at 6-4.

SAU wasn't done, though. They tied things up in the seventh inning, making it a 6-6 ballgame. But the Storm had one last push. Hicks led off the bottom of the inning with a double, and after a pair of intentional walks and a wild pitch, Ryan Talley took one for the team, getting hit by a pitch to bring home the winning run to secure the 7-6 win over the Muleriders. 

Next Up
The Crimson Storm will take on Southern Arkansas University for their last game of the series February 24 at 12:00 pm  at Feland Field