The Oakland City University baseball team has been waiting for the weather to clear in order to open their 2019 season at Pinnick Field, seeing their first two home series, scheduled against Goshen College and Cincinnati Christian University, canceled because of temperature and wet conditions. But the weather finally cooperated enough for the Mighty Oaks to host the Greyhounds of the University of Indianapolis for a double-header.
In game one, scheduled for nine innings of play, the Greyhounds scored first, as two runners reached on errors, and a run scored on a failed pick off attempt, in the top of the first inning. OCU responded by plating
Noah Baugher, a freshman who got the start in center field, who led off the inning with a single.
Austin Morris, sophomore second baseman, followed him with a single of his own, advancing Baugher to third.
Dillon Whitten, senior first baseman, hit a sacrifice fly to right field, sending the first run home for the Oaks.
Oakland City took the lead in the bottom of the third inning, as Whitten and
Colton White hit back to back one-out doubles. Whitten's shot hit to top of the fence in left-center field, bouncing back into the field of play, while White doubled on a hard hit liner down the third base line.
Neither team would score again until the ninth inning, when Whitten, pitching in relief, started the inning by allowing a walk. The runner moved to second on a wild pitch, then advanced two bases to score on a throwing error after a successful sacrifice bunt. The next batter for the Greyhounds laid a perfect bunt down the third base line, giving Indianapolis their first hit of the game. UIndy plated one more run in the inning, taking a 3-2 lead into the final half of regulation.
Adrian Navarro, who came in to play first base after Whitten took the mound, reached base one a walk with one out, bringing in
Joseph White to pinch run.
Jamal Porter, senior outfielder, reached on a single, and
Noah Gilbert, freshman catcher, moved both runners into scoring position with a ground out to the shortstop, followed by a walk off two RBI single by Baugher, giving the Mighty Oaks their first win of 2019, 4-3.
Baugher finished with three hits in five at-bats, with two RBI and a run scored. Whitten was 1-3, with a run scored and an RBI, while
Colton White went 1-4 with an RBI. Porter was 1-1 in the game, with a run scored, while Morris, Gilbert and
Landon Montgomery each had a hit.
Justin Hallum started the game on the mound for the Oaks, pitching six complete innings, allowing one unearned run and one walk, while striking out five batters and giving up no hits. Skyler Brooks pitched one inning in relief, allowing one walk, while
Brandon Taylor also threw one inning, giving up one walk and striking out one. Whitten saw one inning of work, allowing two runs, one earned, on one hit, with one walk, earning the win in the game.
Game two saw OCU's Baugher reach on a leadoff single in the first inning, but then fall behind on a solo homerun in the third inning, coming with two outs, the Greyhounds first hit of the game. Indianapolis increased their lead to 2-0 in the fifth inning, earning back to back walks with one out, followed by an RBI single.
The Oaks would not get their second hit until back to back singles by
Kyle Stuckey and Baugher with two outs in the fifth, but were unable to score in the inning. Neither team had a hit in the final two innings of play, as Oakland City ended the day with a 2-0 game two loss, and a split series on the day.
Baugher went 2-3 in the second game, while Stuckey finished 1-2, in a strong pitching performance by both sides.
Devan Franz pitched the first six innings for Oakland City, allowing two runs, both earned, on three hits and five walks, while striking out six.
Will Davis came in to pitch the final inning, allowing one hit.
The Oaks will be back in action on Tuesday, March 5, when they host the Bearcats of Brescia University for a double header at Pinnick Field. Game one is scheduled to start at noon.
